tag:theconversation.com,2011:/au/topics/bikies-1164/articlesBikies – The Conversation2016-09-15T20:15:27Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/645452016-09-15T20:15:27Z2016-09-15T20:15:27ZFashion police: new Queensland laws continue Australia's misguided war on bikies<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/137839/original/image-20160915-4963-d85d9w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=496&amp;fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Queensland&#39;s new anti-bikie laws propose to ban the wearing of all gang colours in public.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">AAP/Dan Peled</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The Queensland government has <a href="http://statements.qld.gov.au/Statement/2016/9/13/australias-toughest-laws-to-tackle-serious-organised-crime">revealed proposed new laws</a> to combat bikies. This is in response to Labor’s <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-01-29/queensland-election-labor-to-set-up-organised-crime-inquiry/6054864">election promise</a> to review the former Newman government’s <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-will-the-scrapping-of-queenslands-anti-bikie-laws-mean-for-organised-crime-56976">anti-bikie laws</a>. The new legislation proposes to ban the wearing of <a href="http://statements.qld.gov.au/Statement/2016/8/28/bikies-to-be-banned-from-wearing-colours-in-public">all gang colours in public</a>, marking an Australian first.</p>
<p>But what will these laws achieve? And is the threat real or perceived?</p>
<h2>Are bikies public enemy number one?</h2>
<p>Bikie gangs lend themselves to being presented as at the forefront of serious and organised criminal activity throughout Australia. They are easily identifiable to the general public and have committed some <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/national/bikie-killed-in-sydney-airport-brawl-20090322-95xc.html">brazen displays of public violence</a>. </p>
<p>But in reality, the case against the bikies is often overstated by law enforcement agencies and governments, and <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-battle-to-win-hearts-and-minds-in-queenslands-bikie-war-23283">pounced on by the media as great copy</a>.</p>
<p>The Queensland Police Service (QPS) claims bikies commit about 0.6% of <a href="https://www.police.qld.gov.au/programs/acglfaq.htm">all crime in the state</a>. The <a href="http://www.justice.qld.gov.au/taskforce-into-organised-crime">Queensland Taskforce on Organised Crime Legislation</a> said bikies commit less than 1% of overall reported crime. In regard to media portrayals of the bikies, the taskforce noted:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The amplification of the role of OMCGs [outlaw motorcycle gangs] in criminal activity across Queensland has, in the face of the actual statistics, arguably distorted the public’s perception of the actual extent of the threat.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>This is illustrated in Right to Information arrest figures I obtained in August 2016. These showed there had been 2,573 people arrested on 8,582 charges since the commencement of the Queensland bikie blitz in October 2013. Yet Mick Niland, the head of the QPS’ anti-bikie taskforce, <a href="http://www.goldcoastbulletin.com.au/news/crime-court/queensland-law-society-president-bill-potts-says-police-will-struggle-to-convict-hells-angels-after-mass-ride/news-story/d6bdf8c695ff9e1bbeedd038e9b7bca4">recently admitted</a> arrests of actual bikies were much lower than that (925 bikies on 3,347 charges since October 2013).</p>
<p>The organised crime taskforce noted that many of those arrests attributed to bikie gangs are in fact not related.</p>
<h2>Spreading across Australia</h2>
<p>In 2015 <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-08-31/victorian-government-introduces-new-anti-consorting-bill/6736646">Victoria</a> enacted new laws to deal with bikie gangs. <a href="http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/sa-to-keep-the-bikie-legislation-queensland-is-scrapping-20160406-go05fa.html">South Australia</a> has introduced laws heavily based on Queensland’s existing model, despite their <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-will-the-scrapping-of-queenslands-anti-bikie-laws-mean-for-organised-crime-56976">lack of success</a>. </p>
<p>New South Wales already has consorting laws it uses to police bikie gangs. The NSW Ombudsman has conducted two reviews on the use of this legislation – one in <a href="https://www.ombo.nsw.gov.au/news-and-publications/publications/reports/legislative-reviews/consorting-issues-paper-review-of-the-use-of-the-consorting-provisions-by-the-nsw-police-force-division-7-part-3a-of-the-crimes-act-1900">2014</a> and another in <a href="https://www.ombo.nsw.gov.au/news-and-publications/publications/reports/legislative-reviews/the-consorting-law-report-on-the-operation-of-part-3a,-division-7-of-the-crimes-act-1900-april-2016">2016</a>. Both found shortcomings in the way police were using the legislation.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.ombo.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0005/34709/The-consorting-law-report-on-the-operation-of-Part-3A,-Division-7-of-the-Crimes-Act-1900-April-2016.pdf">The 2016 review</a> recommended the use of the consorting laws be focused only on serious or organised crime, and prohibited from being used to tackle minor or nuisance offending.</p>
<p>The proposed Queensland law does not necessarily focus on consorting for the purpose of criminal activity. It says:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>… the person’s association with the other person need not have a purpose related to criminal activity.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>This would seem at odds with the <a href="http://statements.qld.gov.au/Statement/2016/9/13/australias-toughest-laws-to-tackle-serious-organised-crime">government’s claims</a> that the laws:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>… would enable law enforcement agencies to tackle all forms of serious organised crime … by focusing on people’s criminal activity, rather than a focus on any individual group.</p>
</blockquote>
<p><a href="http://statements.qld.gov.au/Statement/2016/8/30/new-and-comprehensive-laws-to-target-serious-organised-crime">Queensland’s new laws</a> draw heavily on the NSW consorting laws. They include several provisions, including consorting offences, a ban on clubhouses, anti-fortification requirements, and public safety orders.</p>
<p>Perhaps most controversially they ban the wearing of gang colours in public. Until now colours had only been banned in licensed venues in some states. </p>
<p>The previous Queensland state government <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/national/outlaw-colours-will-stay-legal-for-now-20120428-1xs7j.html">rejected such a move</a>. Then-premier Campbell Newman said:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>We don’t go after people because of the clothes they wear, the tattoo they may have, the way their wear their hair. We go after the people who break the law, who are a threat to society.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>But banning colours is <a href="http://statements.qld.gov.au/Statement/2016/8/28/bikies-to-be-banned-from-wearing-colours-in-public">now seen as a way</a> to combat organised crime.</p>
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<span class="caption">Proposed new Queensland bikie laws.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Author</span></span>
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<h2>Police already have the tools they need</h2>
<p>The QPS and other Australian law-enforcement agencies already had powerful legislative tools to combat criminal organisations prior to enacting <a href="https://theconversation.com/criminalising-conversations-australias-damaging-love-affair-with-consorting-laws-53633">consorting-specific legislation</a>. </p>
<p>Queensland’s <a href="https://www.legislation.qld.gov.au/LEGISLTN/ACTS/2009/09AC053.pdf">Criminal Organisations Act</a> provides for making declarations and control orders for preventing and disrupting the activities of organisations involved in serious criminal activity, and of their members, former members, prospective members and associates. </p>
<p>Ironically, this legislation was introduced by the then-Labor government in 2009, and was <a href="http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/government-wrestles-with-bikie-association-laws-20120601-1zmrt.html">opposed by the LNP opposition</a> both before and after its introduction. Its criticisms included:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>This bill is a repugnant attack on the rights and liberties of individuals.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The QPS has made only one application under it to have an organised declared a criminal organisation: the Gold Coast chapter of the Finks bikie gang. The application and the legislation successfully <a href="http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/finks-lose-legal-battle-20130313-2g1t3.html">withstood a High Court challenge</a>. </p>
<p>At the time, QPS Assistant Commissioner Mike Condon <a href="http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/finks-lose-legal-battle-20130313-2g1t3.html">said</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Where there is sufficient evidence we will take action.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Despite this in 2014, the QPS <a href="http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/police-drop-bid-to-have-finks-declared-criminal-organisation/story-fnihsrf2-1226854083518">withdrew is application</a> regarding the Finks. The reasons for withdrawal were suppressed. And no other evidence has ever been presented to make an application against any other gang in Queensland.</p>
<h2>What will the proposed laws achieve?</h2>
<p>It may well be difficult for the minority Labor government in Queensland to have these laws passed. <a href="http://www.news.com.au/national/breaking-news/qld-bikie-laws-create-deep-kap-concerns/news-story/0e21caf4b954f7406dfc267332b34e3b">Minor parties</a> and <a href="http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/peter-wellington-cautious-over-queensland-bikie-laws-20160829-gr3eph.html">independents</a> have expressed concern with them. </p>
<p>This reflects to some degree a state of policy paralysis the government finds itself in. It has insufficient numbers in parliament to pass legislation without crossbench support.</p>
<p>The devil is in the detail. The government says even if the new laws are passed, the existing laws will remain in place for two years – possibly until after the next state election. This will allow the government to claim it did “something” about the unpopular existing laws, but that by bringing in its own laws it is also tough on crime.</p>
<p>In any case, like those that preceded them, these proposed laws may just end up being window-dressing. Existing offences and investigative powers are more than sufficient to deal with the threat of organised crime and criminal elements in the bikies.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/64545/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Terry Goldsworthy does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>What will Queensland's new laws to combat the bikie 'menace' actually achieve?Terry Goldsworthy, Assistant Professor in Criminology, Bond UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/569762016-04-05T04:43:55Z2016-04-05T04:43:55ZWhat will the scrapping of Queensland's anti-bikie laws mean for organised crime?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/117410/original/image-20160405-27150-fxrx83.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=496&amp;fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Queensland&#39;s laws targeting bikies are set to be replaced with more workable ones.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">AAP/QPS</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The Queensland government has announced it will introduce a <a href="http://statements.qld.gov.au/Statement/2016/4/4/government-strengthens-and-expands-serious-organised-crime-laws-in-queensland">new suite of laws</a> designed to tackle organised crime on a much broader front than just targeting bikies. This follows the release on Monday of a <a href="http://www.justice.qld.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0017/463022/report-of-the-taskforce-on-organised-crime-legislation.pdf">report</a> that recommended the state’s contentious anti-bikie laws be replaced with more workable ones.</p>
<p>So, what will this mean for organised crime in Queensland – and more broadly in Australia?</p>
<p>The Queensland laws have been held out as a model for dealing with organised crime. Other states, such as Victoria and South Australia, have rushed to implement <a href="https://theconversation.com/criminalising-conversations-australias-damaging-love-affair-with-consorting-laws-53633">similar anti-association laws</a>.</p>
<h2>What did the taskforce call for?</h2>
<p>The anti-association offences and mandatory sentencing provisions are the two most contentious elements of Queensland’s anti-bikie laws. If the recommendations of the taskforce that reviewed the laws are followed, both would be replaced with new laws the government claims will be tougher, more workable and more readily enforceable. </p>
<p>This will be achieved by ensuring the laws are operationally strong and legally robust. According to the government, the new laws will be more likely to result in criminal convictions, which are absent currently.</p>
<p>The taskforce recommended replacing the anti-association provisions with laws similar to those <a href="http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/nsw/consol_act/ca190082/s93x.html">in New South Wales</a>. The NSW laws relate to convicted offenders associating with other criminals. Queensland’s current laws treat all members of a group the same – regardless of their criminality.</p>
<p>The taskforce proposed the mandatory sentencing provisions be attached as an aggravating circumstance to the primary offence. In essence, this would mean someone is punished for their criminality – not for being a member of a group, as is currently the case. In Queensland, if someone is convicted currently of a crime that can be shown to be linked to organised crime, their sentence is increased.</p>
<p>Control orders are set to be implemented for those convicted of organised crime offences. These orders would allow conditions to be placed on a person who has been convicted of an organised crime offence. The aim is to control their behaviour in the community so as to prevent, restrict or disrupt them from engaging in further criminal activity.</p>
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<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Author</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
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<h2>Have the laws impacted organised crime?</h2>
<p>Queensland’s anti-bikie laws were introduced to combat organised crime, in particular the drug scourge. But drug-trafficking offences in the state have <a href="http://mypolice.qld.gov.au/queensland-crime-statistics/">more than doubled</a> from 372 in 2013, when the laws were introduced, to 752 in 2015. Drug possession charges have increased 40% since 2013.</p>
<p>Despite police claims of bikies being major players in the drug market, <a href="https://publications.qld.gov.au/dataset/taskforce-on-organised-crime-legislation/resource/8534db93-2def-4c62-8ba8-059f4c6dae6b">six years of data</a> show they were charged with less than 1% of all drug-trafficking offences in Queensland.</p>
<p>The state’s <a href="https://www.organisedcrimeinquiry.qld.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0017/935/QOCCI15287-ORGANISED-CRIME-INQUIRY_Final_Report.pdf">Organised Crime Commission of Inquiry</a> criticised this tunnel-vision approach:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>… the focus upon – and resources solely dedicated to – the threat of outlaw motorcycle gangs by the QPS [Queensland Police Service] has meant that other types of organised crime have not been able to be appropriately investigated.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The taskforce noted that crime statistics gave a <a href="https://theconversation.com/crime-stats-provide-reality-check-in-queenslands-bikie-crackdown-30908">realistic view</a> of bikies’ involvement in crime in Queensland:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>On any view they do not suggest that OMCG [outlaw motorcycle gang] members were committing a large number, or a large proportion, of serious crimes in Queensland.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Other groups, <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/national/from-armenia-to-australia-how-the-mob-controls-the-trafficking-of-ice-into-australia-20160318-gnlwal.html">such as the mafia</a>, are now well-entrenched in various organised crime activities in Australia – including the ice trade. </p>
<h2>Bikie laws’ lack of success</h2>
<p>The success – or otherwise – and the necessity of Queensland’s anti-bikie laws can be broken down into a number of simple propositions. </p>
<p>With regard to general crime, the laws have not affected <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-revealing-facts-on-bikie-laws-and-crime-in-queensland-35892">overall crime trends</a>. </p>
<p>In <a href="https://publications.qld.gov.au/dataset/taskforce-on-organised-crime-legislation/resource/835df527-407f-4d52-b41c-e2ff3b97fb81">its submission</a> to the review, the Queensland Police Service noted that despite the laws having been in place for almost two years, the purpose for which they were created – dismantling bikie gangs – has not been achieved.</p>
<p>There are still <a href="https://publications.qld.gov.au/dataset/taskforce-on-organised-crime-legislation/resource/9644dd32-074c-43b5-8c0e-c8df52358cfe">plenty of bikies</a> in Queensland. There were 920 members in Queensland as of July 2013. In June 2015, this stood at 882 members. Only a 4% reduction in bikie gang membership has been achieved – not the 17% claimed in the police submission. The police admit this reduction in numbers has had a limited impact.</p>
<p>There have been no successful convictions under the criminal association provisions in two years. Former Queensland attorney-general Jarrod Bleijie, who introduced the laws, <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/pm/content/2016/s4434002.htm">said</a> about the lack of court success that:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>It’s important to realise that the … legislation was not necessarily always about conviction, it was about deterrence.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>In reality, deterrence in the criminal justice system is achieved when you put in place an offence, people are charged and convicted in court, and then a punishment is imposed.</p>
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<h2>Implications for organised crime</h2>
<p>The nature of organised crime <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-australia-needs-to-change-its-view-of-organised-crime-42822">has changed</a> and become more fluid. It has outpaced legislation – such as Queensland’s anti-bikie laws – that is designed to deal with rigid structures.</p>
<p>The review taskforce is a substantial body of work undertaken with due consideration and wide consultation. This <a href="https://theconversation.com/bikies-crackdown-did-the-constitution-fail-queensland-19359">was missing</a> when the anti-bikie laws were introduced. </p>
<p>There has been a realisation that bikies are just a small part of the organised crime problem. The laws required to tackle organised crime must be able to deal with groups other than just bikies.</p>
<p>An <a href="http://statements.qld.gov.au/Statement/2016/4/4/374-million-boost-to-fight-serious-organised-crime-in-queensland">extra A$37 million</a> will aid in the fight against organised crime. </p>
<p>The Queensland government has also recognised the need for an independent crime statistics body, such as the <a href="http://www.bocsar.nsw.gov.au/">NSW BOCSAR</a>. This should prevent police politicisation, which <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-revealing-facts-on-bikie-laws-and-crime-in-queensland-35892">has been apparent</a> in the anti-bikies fight.</p>
<p>This report, as well as the government’s promises, is a step in the right direction for dealing with organised crime as a whole, rather than just focusing on one small sub-group. The real test for the government will be whether the report’s recommendations can be successfully implemented.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/56976/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Terry Goldsworthy ne travaille pas, ne conseille pas, ne possède pas de parts, ne reçoit pas de fonds d&#39;une organisation qui pourrait tirer profit de cet article, et n&#39;a déclaré aucune autre affiliation que son poste universitaire.</span></em></p>A report by a taskforce reviewing Queensland's anti-bikie laws is a step in the right direction for dealing with organised crime as a whole, rather than just focusing on one small sub-group.Terry Goldsworthy, Assistant Professor in Criminology, Bond UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/527012016-02-17T03:04:40Z2016-02-17T03:04:40ZPalaszczuk's first year in office: an unanticipated success<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/107478/original/image-20160107-14955-18gnctc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=496&amp;fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Annastacia Palaszczuk&#39;s key priorities now revolve around diversifying Queensland’s economy and boosting foreign investment to create jobs.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">AAP/Dave Hunt</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Annastacia Palaszczuk has just completed the end of her first year as Queensland premier following Labor’s <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-02-01/queensland-election-2015-newman-to-remain-as-caretaker-premier/6060586">stunning election victory</a> over the Liberal National Party (LNP). </p>
<p>The LNP – and some commentators – identified Palaszczuk as an <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/good-weekend/annastacia-palaszczuk-queenslands-accidental-premier-20150402-1mdq2e.html">“accidental” premier</a>, a byproduct of an <a href="https://theconversation.com/queensland-voters-send-a-strong-message-to-eject-newman-37018">antagonistic reaction</a> to her predecessor, Campbell Newman.</p>
<p>But Palaszczuk and her frontbench team have thus far proved successful in <a href="http://www.tjryanfoundation.org.au/_dbase_upl/Qld_2014_Political_Battleground_with_Epilogue.pdf">tackling three key problems</a>: maintaining parliamentary stability, restoring relationships with the judiciary and police, and ending the perceived policy inertia in job creation linked in part to internal conflicts over environmental protection and in part to issues of managing debt without privatisation.</p>
<h2>An uncertain parliamentary majority</h2>
<p>Once Newman was removed, Palaszczuk’s opponents claimed she lacked any legitimate claim to the premiership because of the uncertainty of the outcome, especially when a court challenge <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2015/feb/04/queensland-election-count-continues-in-ferny-grove-despite-likely-challenge">initially loomed</a> in one electorate, Ferny Grove. </p>
<p>Both sides conducted protracted negotiations with the key independent, Peter Wellington (who <a href="http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/peter-wellington-nominated-as-speaker-20150226-13qhaa.html">became</a> the parliamentary speaker), and the two members of the Katter’s Australian Party (KAP).</p>
<p>Palaszczuk soon needed to deal with crises sparked by the behaviour of two newly elected Labor MPs. This reflected poorly on the thoroughness of preselection processes. </p>
<p>First, North Queensland MP Billy Gordon’s failure to disclose his criminal history, and fresh allegations of domestic violence (he was later not charged), led to his <a href="https://theconversation.com/by-sacking-billy-gordon-palaszczuk-has-put-her-government-on-the-brink-39473">expulsion from the ALP</a> to sit as an independent.</p>
<p>Rick Williams <a href="http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/queensland-labor-mp-rick-williams-in-impropriety-scandal/news-story/24b070e970409003d80b6c9fbba03a57">faced allegations</a> of dubious business practices and allegations of sexual harassment. Then-police minister Jo-Ann Miller’s <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2015/jun/18/queensland-police-minister-jo-ann-miller-cleared-by-corruption-watchdog">ill-judged involvement</a> in this case created further tension inside the ALP caucus.</p>
<p>KAP and Gordon combined on a few occasions to vote with the LNP – <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-10-25/mps-vow-block-queensland-government-lockout-liquor-laws/6883260">resisting restrictions</a> aimed at reducing late-night violence and promoting legislation aimed at <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-12-03/sugar-bill-passes-but-millers-vow-its-just-the-beginning/6996408">sugar industry re-regulation</a>. KAP sometimes inserted new items on the policy agenda which the ALP eventually adopted or modified, such as the <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-05-06/queensland-parliament-supports-ethanol-mandate/6450450">mandating of ethanol</a>.</p>
<p>But, for the most part, ALP electoral commitments to a modest range of legislative changes were progressed. This included rescinding Newman-era restrictions on the <a href="http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/palaszczuk-reverses-newmanera-queensland-building-union-laws/news-story/59d8250b250d1af6c8372a4751a87e0d">freedom of trade unions</a>.</p>
<h2>Relations with the judiciary</h2>
<p>The major issue Palaszczuk immediately faced was reconstituting an appropriate relationship with the judiciary and the independent anti-corruption body, the Crime and Corruption Commission (CCC), and its supervisory parliamentary committee. </p>
<p>The problem of dealing with Chief Justice Tim Carmody, a <a href="https://theconversation.com/history-of-unchecked-executive-haunts-queensland-in-judge-fight-28029">controversial</a> Newman appointee, took months to solve. It ended in <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-07-01/queensland's-chief-justice-tim-carmody-resigns/6587422">his resignation</a>. </p>
<p>The appointment of Alan MacSporran to chair the CCC was made after much <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-07-30/alan-mcsporran-named-as-queensland-crime-and-corruption-chairman/6659232">point-scoring about processes</a>. MacSporran signalled his willingness to avoid the past era of politicisation and, if necessary, to ruffle police feathers in the process.</p>
<p>Feathers were <a href="http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/focus-on-bikies-allowed-other-criminals-to-prosper-inquiry-20151030-gkmtj6.html">duly ruffled</a> with the report of a commission of inquiry into organised crime, which included evaluating the impact of the Newman government’s controversial <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-revealing-facts-on-bikie-laws-and-crime-in-queensland-35892">anti-bikie laws</a>. </p>
<p>Commissioner Michael Byrne questioned the relative benefit of allocating police resources specifically for this purpose when there were other more substantial policing problems associated with areas such as drug production and distribution, organised sexual predators, domestic violence and fraud.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/108103/original/image-20160114-10399-1oibh5a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Palaszczuk government reviewed its predecessor’s controversial anti-bikie laws.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">AAP/Dan Peled</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Jobs, infrastructure and the environment</h2>
<p>The new government also had to balance concerns about environmental protection against the imperative of creating new jobs to replace those being lost with the end of the mining boom.</p>
<p>This had regional and political dimensions. ALP seats in mining areas outside Queensland’s south-east corner and the Right faction inside the ALP wanted to press ahead with coal mining at almost any cost. But ALP seats in and around Brisbane and the Left faction were more sensitive to environmental issues, especially concerning the Great Barrier Reef, and feared loss of support to the Greens. </p>
<p>Decisions about the <a href="https://theconversation.com/greg-hunt-approves-adanis-carmichael-coal-mine-again-experts-respond-49227">Adani coal mine</a> in the Galilee Basin and the associated development of the <a href="https://theconversation.com/dumping-abbot-point-dredge-spoil-on-land-wont-save-the-reef-38716">Abbot Point port</a> near Mackay became political litmus tests.</p>
<p>The other source of jobs was infrastructure spending, tourism projects like cruise terminals, casinos, football grounds and expanded housing projects. Here the constraint was mainly the problem of debt and the confidence of private sector investors. The threat of restricted availability of supplementary funding from the federal government, especially to support rapidly escalating health services costs, also imposed limits.</p>
<p>However, the obstruction and antagonism from the Abbott government gave way to a marginally more conciliatory attitude from Malcolm Turnbull. He embraced one of Palaszczuk’s signature policies – combating <a href="http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/malcolm-turnbull-boosts-domestic-violence-funding-but-aid-groups-say-more-needed-20150924-gju1we.html">domestic violence</a> – and indulged his own enthusiasm for public transport by supporting a <a href="http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/malcolm-turnbull-to-commit-95-million-to-gold-coast-light-rail-20151010-gk61su.html">light rail project</a> for the Gold Coast.</p>
<h2>Winning business confidence</h2>
<p>But some vocal elements within the local business community and the media felt more needed to be done. </p>
<p>One of the characteristics of the first Palaszczuk ministry was its proclivity for holding inquiries rather than making immediate decisions. This could be viewed positively as a commitment to evidence-based research rather than rushing to judgement. It could also be seen negatively as a delaying tactic to avoid the unpopularity of making hard decisions. Not surprisingly, the media tended to take the latter position.</p>
<p>Palaszczuk <a href="http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/premier-annastacia-palaszczuk-to-focus-on-innovation-and-the-economy-in-2016/news-story/5c2197fbb68a052c9272f7f41301e985">acknowledged these criticisms</a> by inference when she specified the need for renewed effort from her reshuffled cabinet. She echoed Turnbull’s commitment to innovation and recognising the need for “tough decisions”. Her key priorities now revolved around diversifying Queensland’s economy and boosting foreign investment to create jobs.</p>
<p>An <a href="http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/opinion/editorial-training-wheels-off-its-time-for-the-palaszczuk-government-to-deliver-results/news-story/fe1fa045327f72b7d2feeb2a6f89a840">editorial</a> in Brisbane’s Courier-Mail responded almost wistfully hoping for a Bjelke-Petersen renaissance: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>And while “infrastructure” is today the obligatory political buzzword, it’s not enough to produce a glossy infrastructure “plan”. Modern, rapidly transforming economies with fast-rising populations need that plan to translate into a concrete infrastructure “pipeline” of the type Queensland enjoyed many years ago.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Some of us old enough to remember shudder at the thought of such a renaissance and the regime within which it was embedded.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/52701/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span> Roger Scott is an Emeritus Professor in the School of Political Science and International Studies at the University of Queensland. He has taught at six other universities, including a period as Dean of Arts at QUT and as Foundation Vice-Chancellor of the University of Canberra. He was Queensland Director-General of Education in the era of Wayne Goss. I have not received any direct funding support for this research. I serve in an honorary capacity as Executive Director of the T.J.Ryan Foundation which has accepted operational funding assistance from the ALP in Queensland and the Queensland Council of Unions.</span></em></p>The Palaszczuk government has been successful in maintaining parliamentary stability, restoring relationships with the judiciary and police, and ending the perceived policy inertia in job creation.Roger Scott, Emeritus Professor, School of Political Studies and International Relations, The University of QueenslandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/536332016-02-07T19:07:08Z2016-02-07T19:07:08ZCriminalising conversations: Australia's damaging love affair with consorting laws<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/109556/original/image-20160128-27159-18jduz2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=496&amp;fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Consorting laws have been introduced under the pretext of combating organised crime – including that committed by bikie gangs.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">AAP/Joe Castro</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Australia is known as a desirable place to live. It has the freedoms most associate with a Western democracy. But Australian state and territory governments are moving toward <a href="http://www.ruleoflaw.org.au/tag/anti-association-laws/">criminal association or consorting laws</a> as a means of crime management, particularly in relation to organised crime.</p>
<p>Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia have introduced these <a href="http://www.theaustralian.com.au/opinion/columnists/ross-fitzgerald/antiassociation-laws-could-be-used-to-jail-hundreds-of-thousands/news-story/f5875064611bd84d16c74620a869f380?=">restrictive laws</a>. But are the laws justified? Are they an efficient and effective way to combat organised crime?</p>
<h2>Not new – just previously unused</h2>
<p><a href="http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/journals/MelbULawRw/2013/10.html#fnB256">Consorting laws</a> are designed to stop perceived risk populations from social transactions among each other. In effect, it is policing someone because of who they are, not on the basis of any criminal activity they may be doing. They aim to pre-empt any offences.</p>
<p>NSW had historical <a href="https://www.altlj.org/news-and-views/downunderallover/duao-vol-38-2/555-consorting-laws-in-nsw">consorting laws</a>. However, they were seldom used and fell into disuse. In some ways this reflects the <a href="http://www.nt.gov.au/justice/policycoord/documents/lawmake/2013/final_report_July_2013_review_of_the_summary_offences_act.pdf">Northern Territory’s</a> more modern experience. It enacted consorting laws in 2006, but as of June 2013 no-one had been prosecuted using this offence.</p>
<p>In 2005, Queensland repealed its consorting offence due to the provision’s archaic nature. It wanted to replace it with more modern and effective provisions that facilitated community safety and public order. The then-police minister, Judy Spence, described them as <a href="http://www.parliament.qld.gov.au/documents/hansard/2004/2004_09_28_WEEKLY.pdf">“ridiculous offences”</a>.</p>
<h2>The new era</h2>
<p>NSW <a href="http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/nsw/consol_act/ca190082/s93x.html">replaced</a> its existing consorting laws in 2012. They survived a <a href="http://www.ruleoflaw.org.au/consorting-upheld/">High Court challenge</a> in 2014, although there were dissenting judgments as to its validity. The new offence section was <a href="https://www.ombo.nsw.gov.au/news-and-publications/publications/reports/legislative-reviews/consorting-issues-paper-review-of-the-use-of-the-consorting-provisions-by-the-nsw-police-force-division-7-part-3a-of-the-crimes-act-1900">clearly aimed at organised crime</a>.</p>
<p>In 2015, <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-08-31/victorian-government-introduces-new-anti-consorting-bill/6736646">Victoria</a> and <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-07-30/anti-bikie-legislation-passes-sa-upper-house/6660280">South Australia</a> enacted consorting laws under the pretext of combating organised crime.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.ombo.nsw.gov.au/news-and-publications/publications/reports/legislative-reviews/consorting-issues-paper-review-of-the-use-of-the-consorting-provisions-by-the-nsw-police-force-division-7-part-3a-of-the-crimes-act-1900">NSW Ombudsman</a> reported to parliament in mid-2014 on the first 12 months of operation of that state’s laws. A further review is <a href="https://www.ombo.nsw.gov.au/what-we-do/our-work/police/legislative-reviews">now underway</a>. Despite having been designed to combat organised crime, general duties police were the majority users of the consorting provisions (85%) – not detectives from specialist squads (11%).</p>
<p>The NSW Ombudsman reviewed 1247 persons targeted by police for “consorting”. About 7% of these were children and young people aged between 13 and 17. 40% of all people subject to the consorting provisions in their first year of use were Indigenous, despite making up only 2.5% of the NSW population. </p>
<p>The review also highlighted the fallacy of the law being targeted at organised crime. An analysis of the criminal histories of a select group (604 people) targeted by the laws revealed:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>28 people, or 24% of those who were the subject of official warnings issued by the specialist squads, had a conviction for a serious criminal offence; and</p></li>
<li><p>43 people, or 15% of those who were the subject of official warnings issued by the local area commands, had a conviction for a serious criminal offence.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>These figures highlight the lack of serious criminal activity of those being targeted by the laws. </p>
<p>The review raised the crucial question of what gaps – if any – the consorting provisions filled that current laws and powers did not already cover. There were already existing laws available to achieve what the consorting laws supposedly did – but senior NSW police still claim the laws <a href="http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw/bikie-gangs-police-crackdown-on-outlaws-costs-gangs-millions-drives-many-underground/news-story/2245c8f66b8a25164abac23442db598c?login=1">are necessary</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/109628/original/image-20160129-27328-10t9lx8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/109628/original/image-20160129-27328-10t9lx8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip"></a>
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<span class="attribution"><a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
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</figure>
<h2>The Queensland experience</h2>
<p>In 2013 the Queensland government <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2015/aug/19/vlad-anti-bikie-laws-criticised-for-absurd-name-and-attack-on-judges">passed</a> harsh consorting and mandatory sentencing laws in response to a <a href="https://theconversation.com/crime-stats-provide-reality-check-in-queenslands-bikie-crackdown-30908">bikie brawl on the Gold Coast</a>.</p>
<p>In essence, though, the situation was not caused by what the bikies did, but rather by what the police were unable to do. <a href="https://publications.qld.gov.au/dataset/taskforce-on-organised-crime-legislation">Submissions</a> from the Queensland Police Service to a recent review of the laws indicated that on the night of the brawl only 13% of available police were rostered on.</p>
<p>As of January 2016, Queensland’s <a href="http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/crime-and-justice/taskforce-maxima-downsizing-causes-alarm-as-bikies-reemerge-in-club-colours/news-story/261ecaae7234c06ba659cfce51a8dd68?login=1">war on bikies</a> had resulted in the arrest of 2573 offenders on 8582 charges. Yet only 20 bikie gang members had been charged under the laws’ mandatory sentencing provisions in almost two years of the campaign. This amounts to around 0.7% of those charged.</p>
<p>Even more significantly, as of July 2015 only 45 “participants” had been charged under the consorting laws. No-one had been convicted. Police have offered no evidence in many of these cases, due to a lack of evidence in the first place.</p>
<h2>Do police really need the laws?</h2>
<p>The Queensland Police Service claims it needs the current consorting laws to remain. But, it has had <a href="https://www.legislation.qld.gov.au/Acts_SLs/Acts_SL_C.htm">similar laws</a> at its disposal since 2009 and failed to use them.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/queensland-bikie-numbers-fall-following-newman-government-crackdown/news-story/a98c82d17e68cdc9519d213bdc89bc8f">Queensland</a> and <a href="http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw/bikie-gangs-police-crackdown-on-outlaws-costs-gangs-millions-drives-many-underground/news-story/2245c8f66b8a25164abac23442db598c">NSW</a> claim that bikie numbers are going down. Yet <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-australias-war-on-bikies-will-inevitably-end-in-failure-44972">Australian Crime Commission</a> data indicated that in 2012 there were 4483 bikie gang members across Australia. There are now <a href="https://www.crimecommission.gov.au/publications/intelligence-products/crime-profile-fact-sheets/outlaw-motorcycle-gangs">approximately 6000 members</a>. This is a 34% increase in three years.</p>
<p>The argument is also made that consorting laws assist in fighting organised crime. But, in Queensland, organised-crime-type offences have risen since the laws’ introduction in 2013.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/109637/original/image-20160129-27342-t5kgkr.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip">
<figcaption>
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<span class="attribution"><a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Queensland police credited the new bikie laws with a <a href="http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/drop-in-crime-rates-signals-queensland-police-are-winning-war-on-bikie-gangs/news-story/3ef93cbeaa2555b008abafaeb25ead12">reduction in reported crime</a> in 2013-14. However, no explanation was provided when reported crime increased in 2014-15, despite the anti-bikie laws still being in place. What this does highlight is how the laws cannot be <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-revealing-facts-on-bikie-laws-and-crime-in-queensland-35892">held responsible</a> for any increase or decrease in Queensland’s overall crime rate.</p>
<p>Policing people for who they are rather than the criminal activity they are involved in poses other dangers. As the Queensland Law Society <a href="https://www.qls.com.au/About_QLS/News_Media/Media_Releases/Acceptance_of_Crime_Bill_-_A_dark_day_for_justice_system_of_Queensland">argued</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Another risk is that the proposed law will lead to lazy policing, where mere criminal intelligence, as opposed to proper evidence, is required to bring criminal consequences upon citizens.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>What Australia needs is informed debate, removed from the strident moral panic being propagated by the media and law enforcement agencies. We need to implement criminal justice policy from a strong evidence base with a view to establishing best practice. This is lacking in the current rush to embrace criminal association laws.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/53633/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Terry Goldsworthy does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia have introduced restrictive "consorting" laws. But are the laws justified? Are they an efficient and effective way to combat organised crime?Terry Goldsworthy, Assistant Professor in Criminology, Bond UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/481022015-09-25T03:30:01Z2015-09-25T03:30:01ZPiecemeal responses show Australia still doesn't 'get' domestic violence<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/96148/original/image-20150925-17083-1nv9gfu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=496&amp;fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The Turnbull government&#39;s package of measures to respond to domestic violence is a step in the right direction, but much more needs to be done.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">AAP/Julian Smith</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has <a href="http://www.malcolmturnbull.com.au/media/release-womens-safety-package-to-stoptheviolence">announced</a> a series of measures to help end domestic violence. He says it will aim to:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>… improve frontline support and services, leverage innovative technologies to keep women safe, and provide education resources to help change community attitudes to violence and abuse.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>But has the discussion been framed correctly? Is it excluding other victims of domestic violence? Will the package make a difference, and why are we seemingly so reluctant to recognise family violence for the serious issue it is?</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/96113/original/image-20150924-17092-1uej64z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/96113/original/image-20150924-17092-1uej64z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The federal government commits to action on domestic violence.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Australian government</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Framing the discussion correctly</h2>
<p>While the initiatives contained in Turnbull’s announcement were positive, it was disappointing to see the use of gender to frame the issue. Yes, statistics tell us that women are the <a href="https://theconversation.com/out-of-the-shadows-the-rise-of-domestic-violence-in-australia-29280">most prominent victims</a>. But it almost seemed that Turnbull was talking specifically to domestic violence between intimate partners to the exclusion of other forms of family violence. </p>
<p>For this article I take domestic violence to include <a href="http://www.aic.gov.au/publications/current%20series/rip/21-40/rip38.html">all forms of family violence</a> and to include all types of family relationships.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/96036/original/image-20150924-17083-1ebh8a2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/96036/original/image-20150924-17083-1ebh8a2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Definition of domestic/family homicides in Australia.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Australian Institute of Criminology</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Since its recognition in Australia in the 1980s, the concept of domestic violence and its associated harms has <a href="https://theconversation.com/out-of-the-shadows-the-rise-of-domestic-violence-in-australia-29280">evolved</a> into a complex criminal justice issue. From its basic origin of being physical violence between married couples, the definition of relationships covered is now wide and varied. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/96044/original/image-20150924-17092-doaspo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/96044/original/image-20150924-17092-doaspo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Offender characteristics in domestic homicides in Australia.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Author/Australian Institute of Criminology.</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>I disagree with the <a href="http://www.pm.gov.au/media/2015-09-24/transcript-joint-press-conference-womens-safety-package-stop-violence">comments</a> of domestic violence campaigner and Australian of the Year Rosie Batty when she said society has to “acknowledge this is a gender issue”. As former prime minister Tony Abbott <a href="http://www.australianoftheyear.org.au/news-and-media/tour-of-honour-2013/news-and-media/news/article/?id=australian-of-the-year-awards-2015-announced">said</a> when announcing the award for Batty:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>… family violence can happen to anyone. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>The notion that domestic violence is limited to physical violence committed only between a male and female in an intimate relationship marginalises many other forms and victims of domestic violence – such as elder abuse, child victims and same-sex relationships. </p>
<p>In Victoria, children form the <a href="http://uat.sentencingcouncil.vic.gov.au/publications/family-violence-intervention-orders-and-safety-notices">single largest category</a> of protected persons in domestic violence matters. There has been a 295.4% increase in children being named in matters between 2004-05 and 2011-12. In 2014, an Australian Institute of Criminology <a href="http://www.aic.gov.au/publications/current%20series/tandi/461-480/tandi469.html">study</a> found that 2% of intimate partner homicides were committed in same-sex relationships. </p>
<p>This is why framing the discussion purely in terms of gender is not productive. It is not a case of absolutes when talking about perpetrators and victims of domestic violence. As a detective, I investigated domestic homicides involving the wife killing the husband, the husband killing the wife, the parent killing the child and the child killing the parent.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/96046/original/image-20150924-17106-3t577z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/96046/original/image-20150924-17106-3t577z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Prevalence of domestic homicide types in Australia.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Author/Australian Institute of Criminology.</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The moment you make it a gender issue you run the risk of alienating many of the gender you are targeting with a broad brush. A much more productive and inclusive discussion would be had by framing the issue in terms of victims and perpetrators, and what is appropriate behaviour for anyone, regardless of gender.</p>
<h2>The scope of the threat</h2>
<p>There is no doubt that domestic violence crime is <a href="https://theconversation.com/out-of-the-shadows-the-rise-of-domestic-violence-in-australia-29280">increasing</a>, and has been doing so for years. The problem is not new. </p>
<p>But do we see it as a core crime-fighting issue? Or does it only become this when a victim of domestic violence dies or is seriously injured? In response to three recent deaths of women in Queensland, the state government <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-09-13/new-measures-to-stop-domestic-violence-in-queensland-palaszczuk/6771428">announced measures</a> that seemed to <a href="https://theconversation.com/deaths-after-seeking-help-point-to-priorities-in-tackling-domestic-violence-47421">tinker around the edges</a> of the problem. </p>
<p>Compare this to when bikie gang members <a href="http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/another-bikie-brawl-on-gold-coast-as-rivals-clash-at-smoothie-shack-at-nobbys-beach-gold-coast/story-fnihsrf2-1226730295951">brawled</a> on the Gold Coast in 2013. Within days Queensland enacted new laws and assigned 200 police to investigate nothing but bikie crime, with a budget that went to millions of dollars. New criminal offences were created with lengthy prison terms attached to them. </p>
<p>In addressing bikie crime, the reaction was instant and overwhelming. But on domestic violence, action could be described as marginal.</p>
<p>Data obtained from the Queensland government under Right to Information shows that bikie gang members were found guilty of 4323 criminal charges between April 2008 and April 2014. This means that bikie gang members were found guilty of 0.17% of reported Queensland offences.</p>
<p>In the same period there were some 65,994 breaches of domestic violence orders. This equates to 2.6% of reported crime for the period. This figure does not account for the thousands of associated criminal charges that would no doubt be linked to the breaches of domestic violence orders.</p>
<p>In the same six-year period, bikies were found guilty of three murders in Queensland. Yet for a similar six-year period, Queensland alone had more than 140 domestic homicides. Domestic violence costs the community <a href="https://theconversation.com/out-of-the-shadows-the-rise-of-domestic-violence-in-australia-29280">billions of dollars</a> a year, a level similar to that estimated for the cost of organised crime.</p>
<p>Despite this, there is still the perception that Australia’s courts do not treat breaches of domestic violence orders seriously. In 2011, Legal Aid NSW <a href="www.legalaid.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0003/10839/Inquiry-into-Domestic-violence-trends-and-issues-in-NSW.pdf">noted</a> that, in many cases, the criminal matter associated with the breach of a restraining order – for example, an assault – received a greater penalty than the breach, thus not reflecting the breach’s seriousness. </p>
<p>Recent moves in Queensland to <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-09-14/domestic-violence-penalties-to-increase-in-queensland/6774378">increase the maximum penalty</a> for a breach of a domestic violence order from two years jail to three hardly seems to reflect the gravity of the situation.</p>
<h2>What we really need to be doing</h2>
<p>We need to ensure that the culture of frontline responders, especially the police, is one that treats domestic violence as the serious crime threat it is. Queensland’s Domestic Violence Taskforce noted this in its <a href="https://www.qld.gov.au/community/documents/getting-support-health-social-issue/dfv-report-vol-one.pdf">report</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>… the taskforce heard many stories about the shortcomings of police responses. Many of these shortcomings stem from processes and procedures that inhibit police responses, but many also come from a culture in some areas that does not give sufficient weight to what is seen as “just a domestic”.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Former Victoria Police chief commissioner Ken Lay has <a href="http://www.pm.gov.au/media/2015-09-24/transcript-joint-press-conference-womens-safety-package-stop-violence">echoed this</a>.</p>
<p>Australia needs a National Domestic Homicide Review Panel to break down cross-jurisdictional boundaries and identify best practice and failings in the protection of victims. It needs a national intelligence centre, similar to the <a href="https://www.crimecommission.gov.au/organised-crime/joint-task-forces-and-initiatives/australian-gangs-intelligence-coordination-centre">Australian Gangs Intelligence Co-ordination Centre</a>, to provide timely intelligence and co-ordination in relation to serious and recidivist domestic violence offenders. </p>
<p>In other words, Australia needs to treat and respond to domestic violence as a serious crime threat with risk-mitigation and crime-management strategies. It should create dedicated taskforces in each state to investigate domestic violence-related crime. If Australia can do it for drug crime, why can’t it do it for domestic violence? </p>
<p>Victoria has shown the way in this regard – it created a <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-03-17/victims-come-first-new-police-boss-on-family-violence-says/6324810">Family Violence Command</a> in its police service.</p>
<p>Australia should also be seriously considering a national domestic violence order system that means a victim does not have to be concerned by jurisdictional boundaries.</p>
<p>The package the Turnbull government announced this week is a step in the right direction. But Australia needs more than a culture shift and training – much, much more.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>The National Sexual Assault, Family &amp; Domestic Violence Counselling Line – 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732) – is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week for any Australian who has experienced, or is at risk of, family and domestic violence and/or sexual assault.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/48102/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Terry Goldsworthy is affiliated with the Gold Coast Centre against Sexual Violence.</span></em></p>Australia needs to treat and respond to domestic violence as a serious crime threat with risk mitigation and crime management strategies.Terry Goldsworthy, Assistant Professor in Criminology, Bond UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/449722015-07-28T20:07:42Z2015-07-28T20:07:42ZWhy Australia's war on bikies will inevitably end in failure<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/90080/original/image-20150729-30867-1pjemvl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=496&amp;fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The Australian policing response to bikie gangs is one–dimensional, with an enforcement focus placed above all else.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">AAP</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Approaching the two-year anniversary of Queensland’s bikie crackdown, some police have <a href="http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/queensland-war-on-bikies-continues-despite-gangs-being-decimated/story-fnn8dlfs-1227162488381">claimed victory</a>. Other senior police, though, say the war <a href="http://www.goldcoastbulletin.com.au/news/crime-court/rap-commander-jim-keogh-says-the-war-between-bikies-and-police-will-never-be-over/story-fnje8bkv-1227413435030">will never be won</a>. </p>
<p>This lack of consensus among police highlights problems with Australia’s approach to combating bikie gangs in Australia. Arrest and punishment have been the tools of trade in this war. But, in reality, the war is neither won nor over.</p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-02-16/anti-bikie-laws-flagged-for-act-following-shootings/6120466">ACT</a> and <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-06-16/anti-bikie-legislation-amended-john-rau/6549618">South Australian</a> governments have mooted similar draconian laws. A Queensland government taskforce is reviewing <a href="http://www.justice.qld.gov.au/taskforce-into-organised-crime/about-the-taskforce">its laws</a> to report back in September. How can we judge success and what lessons can we take away from this type of law-enforcement campaign?</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/8P3_brGqOD8?wmode=transparent&amp;start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Australia’s war on bikies has gained international attention.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>How do we judge success?</h2>
<p>For the police, the numbers of arrests and charges are indicators of success. This is due to this being the part of the criminal justice process that police have most control over. Once a matter moves beyond this point, the police’s ability to influence the outcome is diminished.</p>
<p>In reality, though, a more forensic analysis is required. Previous analysis has shown that bikie gangs have <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-australia-needs-to-change-its-view-of-organised-crime-42822">limited involvement</a> in organised crime and that they make a <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-revealing-facts-on-bikie-laws-and-crime-in-queensland-35892">small contribution</a> to general crime.</p>
<p>The bikie war’s success should be judged on the following indicators:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>successful prosecution of bikie gang members for serious and organised crime offences, with these offences making up the majority of charges;</p></li>
<li><p>evidence that gang numbers are reducing and that recruitment is being interdicted;</p></li>
<li><p>an evidence base that proves association laws stop the criminal elements of bikie gangs meeting to facilitate criminal enterprise;</p></li>
<li><p>a marked positive impact on the organised crime markets that police claim the bikie gangs are dominant in; and</p></li>
<li><p>showing that the gang structures were being used for a common criminal purpose or enterprise.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>No evidence has been provided to the public to prove that any of these have been achieved. Without doubt, bikie gangs are less visible in Queensland – but they have now gone underground. If that was a success indicator, then the campaign has achieved it.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/89618/original/image-20150724-7585-lt31ze.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/89618/original/image-20150724-7585-lt31ze.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Myths and facts of a bikie war.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Terry Goldsworthy</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Failing to make the case</h2>
<p>Making the arrest is only part of the law-enforcement response. Successfully prosecuting the matter is the other. </p>
<p>Queensland’s bikie war has been marred by a number of <a href="http://www.goldcoastbulletin.com.au/news/crime-court/bandido-mauric-found-not-guilty-over-broadbeach-bikie-brawl-charge/story-fnje8bkv-1227368165235">high-profile failures</a> when the matters were tested in court. Some matters, like Sally Kuether’s <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-04-08/a-librarian-who-was-charged-under-queenslands-antibikie-laws-ha/6377062">association arrest</a>, did not even go to trial. No evidence was even offered. </p>
<p>Police heralded the <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-06-25/bikie-crime-would-increase-if-qlds-vlad-laws-were-repealed/5550016">large increase</a> in extortion arrests that had been made as a result of the bikie war. Many of these are <a href="http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/charges-dropped-in-bikie-extortion-case-20150616-ghplsp.html">now failing at court</a>.</p>
<p>Of more concern is that some complainants are accusing police of <a href="http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/bandidos-extortion-case-victim-backflips-claims-false-statement/story-fntwpug1-1227443062370">standover tactics</a> in eliciting their complaints. This alleged conduct may leave investigators <a href="http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/qld/consol_act/cc189994/s92.html">open to criminal charges</a> if proven.</p>
<p>Perhaps most damning was the collapse of many of the <a href="http://www.goldcoastbulletin.com.au/news/crime-court/riot-charges-over-broadbeach-bikie-brawl-struck-out/story-fnje8bkv-1227370869417">riot charges</a> that were the catalyst for the bikie crackdown in the first place. Allegations have also been made that senior police <a href="http://www.goldcoastbulletin.com.au/news/crime-court/five-bikies-linked-to-broadbeach-brawl-plead-guilty-to-downgraded-charges/story-fnje8bkv-1227454178341">interfered</a> in the normal prosecution processes.</p>
<p>Data obtained under Right to Information shows that from April 2008 to April 2014, around 20% of charges against bikies in Queensland failed to result in a successful prosecution. The ethos of charging to inflate arrest figures with little regard for court outcomes may be one explanation for this high rate of failure.</p>
<h2>The gangs are getting bigger</h2>
<p>Part of the Queensland laws’ <a href="https://www.qld.gov.au/law/laws-taxes-elections-and-complaints/queensland-laws-and-regulations/new-criminal-bikie-gang-laws/">purpose</a> is that they are meant to be a disincentive to bikie gang membership. Police claim to have <a href="http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/queensland-war-on-bikies-continues-despite-gangs-being-decimated/story-fnn8dlfs-1227162488381">decimated gangs</a>. But despite the positive rhetoric, gang numbers would appear to have increased nationally. </p>
<p>Australian Crime Commission (ACC) data indicated that in 2012 there were 4483 bikie gang members across Australia. Current ACC data shows that there are now <a href="https://www.crimecommission.gov.au/publications/intelligence-products/crime-profile-fact-sheets/outlaw-motorcycle-gangs">approximately 6000 members</a> – a 34% increase in three years.</p>
<p>Rebels Motorcycle Club president Alex Vella, currently exiled in Malta after the Australian government revoked his visa, recently <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-07-13/stranded-rebels-boss-in-court-battle-to-return-to-australia/6607356">claimed</a> to have recruited more than 90 members to the club since being in Malta.</p>
<p>Right to Information data I obtained in 2013 from the Queensland Police Service indicated that there were 920 bikie gang members in Queensland. As of July 2015, Operation Resolute – the operation targeting the bikie gangs – had <a href="http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/opinion/opinion-yvette-daths-organised-crime-inquiry-is-a-sham-with-a-pre-determined-outcome/story-fnihsr9v-1227427506102">arrested 2214 “gang participants”</a>. So, either gang numbers had grown exponentially, or many of those arrested could not have been members. Either case is damning to the campaign’s claims of success.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/89301/original/image-20150722-9334-4jj2ci.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/89301/original/image-20150722-9334-4jj2ci.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">2012 Australian Crime Commission assessment of bikie gangs in Australia.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Australian Crime Commission</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Can we learn from the war on terror?</h2>
<p>Unlike the war on terror, there has been a distinct lack of community engagement by authorities with at-risk groups in the bikie crackdown. This is despite recognising that youth are entering bikie gangs <a href="http://www.news.com.au/national/australian-feeder-gangs-flying-under-radar-expert-warns/story-fncynjr2-1226911679630">through feeder clubs</a>.</p>
<p>In August 2014, as part of its response to the “war on terror”, the Australian government announced a <a href="https://www.ag.gov.au/NationalSecurity/Counteringviolentextremism/Pages/default.aspx">Countering Violent Extremism Programme</a>. It is focused on early intervention and counter-radicalisation programs – that is, crime-prevention strategies through education and community engagement. In Queensland, the only strategy put forward to deal with the bikie gangs’ possible recruiting avenues is the <a href="http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/police-chief-suggests-curfew-the-only-way-to-deal-with-teen-gangs-dealing-drugs-for-bikies/story-fnn8dlfs-1227428572285">implementation of curfews</a>. </p>
<p>Put simply, the Australian policing response to bikie gangs is one–dimensional. Enforcement is the primary focus. Little attention has been paid to <a href="http://ro.ecu.edu.au/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1018&amp;context=act">analysing the motivations</a> of those joining the bikie gangs when compared to the <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-06-30/new-strategy-recommended-to-prevent-youth-being-radicalised/6582240">prevention of radicalisation</a> in counter-terrorism strategies.</p>
<p>Little attempt has been made to engage the bikie gangs’ leadership, nor implement strategies to remove their criminal elements. Unlike Islamic State, whose purpose is terrorism, the bikie gangs’ criminal behaviour is a <a href="http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs12103-011-9106-6">byproduct</a> of some of the organisation’s members. It is not the sole purpose.</p>
<p>If the bikie gangs are serious about <a href="http://www.umcinc.com.au/">retaining their rights and freedoms</a>, it would be entirely reasonable that they may well accept some regulation that removes criminal elements but allows them to remain lawful organisations. A refusal to undertake a process like this would undermine many of the arguments they have raised in their defence.</p>
<p>It is now up to governments and law enforcement to look beyond arrests and consider what strategies and engagement could be pursued to allow criminal-free bikie groups to exist. It is also time for the gangs to show that they truly want to be just a bunch of guys who ride bikes and don’t deserve the criminal tag they have.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/44972/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Terry Goldsworthy does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>How can we judge success in Australia's crackdown on bikie gang? And what lessons can we take away from this type of law enforcement campaign?Terry Goldsworthy, Assistant Professor in Criminology, Bond UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/433172015-06-18T04:19:10Z2015-06-18T04:19:10ZQueensland holds lessons for states set to crack down on bikies<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/85379/original/image-20150617-23252-1la1gy0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=496&amp;fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">South Australia&#39;s proposed anti-bikie laws criminalise the wearing of anything that indicates association with a declared &#39;criminal organisation&#39; on licensed premises.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">AAP/Eric Sands</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The South Australian government is poised to enact tough <a href="http://www.legislation.sa.gov.au/LZ/B/CURRENT/STATUTES%20AMENDMENT%20%28SERIOUS%20AND%20ORGANISED%20CRIME%29%20BILL%202015/B_AS%20INTRODUCED%20IN%20HA/STATUTES%20ORGANISED%20CRIME%20BILL%202015.UN.PDF">anti-bikie laws</a>. Its bill, currently in the state parliament, mirrors aspects of the suite of <a href="https://www.legislation.qld.gov.au/LEGISLTN/ACTS/2013/13AC064.pdf">laws</a> enacted by the <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-10-16/qlds-tough-anti-bikie-laws-passed-after-marathon-parliament-/5025242">then-LNP government</a> in Queensland in 2013. </p>
<p>South Australia has chosen to adopt those provisions that the High Court <a href="http://www.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/sinodisp/au/cases/cth/HCA/2014/46.html?stem=0&amp;synonyms=0&amp;query=kuczborski&amp;nocontext=1">upheld</a> in November 2014. But while the proposed laws may be constitutional, there are clear reasons why their introduction is at best premature – and at worst a very bad idea. </p>
<h2>What does the South Australian bill do?</h2>
<p>The bill copies a <a href="https://www.legislation.qld.gov.au/bills/54pdf/2013/crimlawcrimorgdisruptab13.pdf">set of new criminal offences</a> from Queensland’s laws. These offences focus on declared criminal organisations, which may be identified by a court or at the attorney-general’s discretion. </p>
<p>Former Queensland attorney-general Jarrod Bleijie identified 26 such organisations and said that his reasons for doing so may <a href="http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/bikie-evidence-to-be-secret-forever-20140115-30vg3.html">never be made public</a>. An almost identical list is part of the South Australian bill. </p>
<p>However, the South Australian bill is broader than the Queensland laws when it comes to declaring criminal organisations. It provides that once an organisation is declared, a change in its name or even its membership will not affect its status as a criminal organisation. If members of the declared organisation re-form to create a new organisation, that group will also be a “criminal organisation”. </p>
<p>This vastly extends the bill’s reach. It may encompass groups well beyond the list of declared organisations. </p>
<p>The new offence provisions criminalise the wearing of anything – names, logos, symbols, insignia and so on – that indicates association with a declared criminal organisation on licensed premises. This offence carries onerous fines and potential terms of imprisonment. There is a A$10,000 penalty for persons responsible for the licensed premises (including employees) if they knowingly allow a person carrying one of these items to enter or remain on the premises.</p>
<p>Once organisations have been declared, its participants are prohibited from doing certain things. A participant is defined very broadly as anyone who takes part in the organisation’s affairs, attends more than one gathering of members, or in any way asserts or even seeks an association with the organisation. </p>
<p>Once a person qualifies as a participant in a criminal organisation, that label sticks. So, a person who attended two Hells Angels meetings in the 1970s, or sought membership of the Bandidos in the 1990s, or was seen wearing Gypsy Jokers colours thereby asserting some association with the group, will qualify as a “participant in a criminal organisation” today and into the future.</p>
<p>A participant in a criminal organisation commits an offence punishable by a term of imprisonment if they: </p>
<ul>
<li><p>meet with two or more other participants in public;</p></li>
<li><p>recruit to the organisation; or</p></li>
<li><p>attend prescribed places or events (that non-participants are free to attend). </p></li>
</ul>
<h2>The Queensland experience</h2>
<p>The High Court has upheld the Queensland laws as in keeping with the separation of powers under the Constitution. During that case, other states – particularly <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-11-13/sa-keeping-eye-on-anti-bikie-laws-high-court-ruling/5889836">South Australia</a> and <a href="https://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/wa/a/26258107/tough-new-bikie-laws-for-wa/">Western Australia</a> – indicated that they would consider enacting any laws that were upheld by the High Court.</p>
<p>While the new offence provisions withstood constitutional scrutiny, the experience in Queensland since then suggests that a cautious approach should be adopted to implementing similar provisions elsewhere.</p>
<p>No less than three government inquiries are currently on foot – two in <a href="https://www.organisedcrimeinquiry.qld.gov.au/">Queensland</a> and one in <a href="http://www.parliament.sa.gov.au/Committees/Pages/Committees.aspx?CTId=5&amp;CId=306">South Australia</a> – on the organised crime threat and what kinds of measures would be effective to combat it. One of these inquiries is in the form of a <a href="http://statements.qld.gov.au/Statement/2015/6/11/respected-former-judge-to-lead-vlad-taskforce">high-level taskforce</a> designed specifically to review the bikie laws enacted in Queensland and report on their effectiveness. The taskforce will also report on how the laws might be improved to better achieve their aims. </p>
<p>All three inquiries are due to report by the end of the year. A move to enact the South Australian bill seems pre-emptive in this context, and eschews an opportunity to enact better, more effective laws in a few months’ time. </p>
<p>Despite being in existence for nearly two years, the effectiveness of Queensland’s laws remains unproven. Two sets of charges for the offence of “participants in a criminal organisation meeting in public” have been dropped before the trial commenced. Success stories of prosecutions under the laws are notably absent. </p>
<p>Some have argued that the laws have not made any <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-revealing-facts-on-bikie-laws-and-crime-in-queensland-35892">significant contribution</a> to the fight against organised crime in Queensland. The laws may <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-12-05/gold-coast-anti-bikie-year-success/5946836">reduce the visibility</a> of bikie gangs, but there is little evidence to suggest they have prevented serious crime.</p>
<p>The laws grossly impact civil liberties. Even the High Court acknowledged that their impact on citizens is severe and disproportionate. The laws highlight the absence of personal rights to associate, or to express oneself through clothing, or to attend events and places that most persons are free to attend.</p>
<p>The impact of the laws on civil liberties had considerable political consequences for the former Newman government. While a tough law and order stance is usually a successful political strategy, these laws arguably went too far. <a href="http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/hundreds-protest-queenslands-antibikie-laws-20140211-32g6g.html">Protests</a> against the laws occurred not only across Queensland but <a href="http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/bikie-protests-go-international-20140113-30t4z.html">around the world</a>. </p>
<p>During its successful state election campaign, Labor vowed to <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-03-05/opposition-vows-to-repeal-queenslands-unworkable-anti-bikie-laws/5299224">repeal the bikie laws</a>. The government has convened the Organised Crime Inquiry and high-level taskforce to fulfil this promise. </p>
<h2>Potential for executive overreach</h2>
<p>The laws have been applied in a way that shows their capacity for executive overreach. While the rhetoric around the laws is aimed squarely at bikie gangs, the potential scope of the laws is <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2015/apr/07/queensland-police-drop-charges-bikie-librarian">far broader</a>. </p>
<p>When Queensland’s laws were challenged in the High Court, Justice Hayne accepted that the attorney-general’s capacity to declare an organisation was effectively unreviewable. He accepted that it could extend to basically any organisation that the government decided to declare. </p>
<p>Already, the South Australian government has inadvertently named an <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-06-04/bikie-laws-similar-to-terror-laws-will-constrain-liberty/6520646">amateur motorcycle club</a> as a declared criminal organisation in the bill. This apparent slip could have grave consequences for participants in that club, who risk imprisonment for meeting in groups of three or publicising the club – regardless of whether they quickly leave the club or re-form under a different name. </p>
<p>Recent trends indicate that if South Australia enacts these laws, other states <a href="http://www.law.unimelb.edu.au/files/dmfile/382Ananian-WelshandWilliams2.pdf">may follow</a> regardless of the serious concerns raised above. Political pressure to look tough on crime and avoid becoming a haven for bikie gangs tends to outweigh concerns over the laws’ impact on society or actual effectiveness.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/43317/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rebecca Ananian-Welsh ne travaille pas, ne conseille pas, ne possède pas de parts, ne reçoit pas de fonds d&#39;une organisation qui pourrait tirer profit de cet article, et n&#39;a déclaré aucune autre affiliation que son poste universitaire.</span></em></p>While South Australia's proposed anti-bikie laws may be constitutional, there are clear reasons why introducing them is at best premature – and at worst a very bad idea.Rebecca Ananian-Welsh, Lecturer, TC Beirne School of Law, The University of QueenslandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/428222015-06-10T20:06:34Z2015-06-10T20:06:34ZWhy Australia needs to change its view of organised crime<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/84327/original/image-20150609-5881-14y7szv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=496&amp;fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Are authorities too focused on the usual suspects and missing the new and emerging markets in organised crime?</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">AAP/Adam Marsters</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Organised crime costs Australia approximately <a href="http://www.ag.gov.au/CrimeAndCorruption/OrganisedCrime/Pages/default.aspx">A$15 billion per year</a>. The federal government’s <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-05-10/federal-government-launches-graphic-ice-ad-campaign/6457810">campaign</a> against the ice menace highlights organised crime’s danger to wider society.</p>
<p>International law enforcement agencies such as Interpol have recently highlighted organised crime’s changing nature. So what is “organised crime” and how has it changed? Are authorities too focused on the usual suspects and missing the new and emerging criminal markets?</p>
<h2>International perspectives on defining organised crime</h2>
<p>Law enforcement agencies have often been more focused on activities or enterprises of organised criminals rather than the markets that exist within the organised crime world. </p>
<p>International policing organisation <a href="http://www.interpol.int/Crime-areas/Organized-crime/Organized-crime">Interpol</a> frames its discussion of organised crime in terms of criminal activity:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Organised networks are typically involved in many different types of criminal activity spanning several countries. These activities may include trafficking in humans, illicit goods, weapons and drugs, armed robbery, counterfeiting and money laundering.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The <a href="http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/organized-crime/index.html#what_organized_crime">UN Convention against Transnational Organised Crime</a> suggests that organised crime groups have a number of elements. These include:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>a group of three or more persons that was not randomly formed </p></li>
<li><p>existing for a period of time</p></li>
<li><p>acting in concert with the aim of committing at least one crime punishable by at least four years’ incarceration. </p></li>
</ul>
<p>The motive behind any group is to obtain, directly or indirectly, a financial or other material benefit.</p>
<h2>The Australian take on organised crime</h2>
<p>Surprisingly, Australia’s National Organised Crime Response <a href="http://www.ag.gov.au/CrimeAndCorruption/OrganisedCrime/Pages/default.aspx">Plan</a> does not define the concept of organised crime. However, it does identify six main threats:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>ice use</p></li>
<li><p>growing use of technology to facilitate crime</p></li>
<li><p>criminal targeting of the financial sector</p></li>
<li><p>professional money laundering</p></li>
<li><p>illicit trade and use of firearms </p></li>
<li><p>the prominence of entrepreneurial individuals in illicit markets.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>A number of pieces of legalisation help frame how Australia defines organised crime. These include the <a href="https://www.crimecommission.gov.au/about-us/legislation">Australian Crime Commission Act</a> and the <a href="https://www.legislation.qld.gov.au/LEGISLTN/CURRENT/C/CrimeandCorruptionA01.pdf">Queensland Crime and Corruption Act</a>.</p>
<p>The New South Wales Crime Commission <a href="http://www.crimecommission.nsw.gov.au/index.cfm?objectid=B91F1CBF-DB3E-D9B0-6F3ABE522067C709">defines</a> organised crime as including serious crime committed in a systemic, organised or sustained way, that would likely have a significant impact on the community and involve substantial proceeds. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/84041/original/image-20150605-14131-u9g04.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/84041/original/image-20150605-14131-u9g04.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Elements of organised crime in Australia.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Terry Goldsworthy</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Is Australia looking at the right players?</h2>
<p>Since 2013, Queensland has been <a href="https://www.qld.gov.au/law/laws-taxes-elections-and-complaints/queensland-laws-and-regulations/new-criminal-bikie-gang-laws/">targeting</a> crime committed by outlaw motorcycle gang members, or bikies. Earlier this month, South Australia <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-06-03/bikie-gangs-to-declared-criminal-organisations-in-sa/6518612">proposed similar laws</a> to Queensland’s. State Attorney-General John Rau argued that these laws target organised crime. </p>
<p>However, a snapshot of bikies’ organised crime activity in Queensland may suggest that too many resources are being devoted to what could be best described as low-level players. </p>
<p>Data I have obtained from the Queensland government show that bikie gang members were found guilty of 4323 criminal charges between April 2008 and April 2014. In the same period, 2,537,223 total offences were reported to police. This means that bikie gang members were found guilty of 0.17% of reported Queensland offences.</p>
<p>The picture does not overly improve when organised crime-type offences are considered. Bikie gang members’ involvement is insignificant in totality. </p>
<p>Money laundering has rightly been considered as being at the centre of organised crime, yet not one charge of money laundering was made against a bikie gang member in six years in Queensland. Most of the crime that bikie gang members committed simply does not fit the nature of organised crime offences.</p>
<p>This focus on the easy targets has seen other highly profitable organised crime groups flourish. An <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-05-26/former-police-investigated-over-gold-coast-boiler-room-scams/6486872">ABC 7.30 report</a> recently uncovered “boiler rooms” – sophisticated fraud operations that are running virtually untouched in Queensland. One insider claimed they were earning hundreds of millions of dollars. </p>
<p>Their discovery prompted the <a href="http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/gold-coast-police-raid-boiler-rooms-linked-to-betting-investment-scams/story-fnn8dlfs-1227347310618">head of the fraud squad</a>, Brian Hay, to call the Gold Coast a crime “mecca”. These criminals weren’t riding Harley Davidsons. They were working the phones.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/84083/original/image-20150605-8677-8hh2zf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/84083/original/image-20150605-8677-8hh2zf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Organised crime activity of bikie gangs in Queensland, April 2008-April 2014.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Terry Goldsworthy, information drawn from data obtained by Right to Information.</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>A new world of criminal opportunity</h2>
<p>In its 2015 <a href="https://www.google.com.au/url?sa=t&amp;rct=j&amp;q=&amp;esrc=s&amp;source=web&amp;cd=1&amp;ved=0CB0QFjAA&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.europol.europa.eu%2Fsites%2Fdefault%2Ffiles%2FEuropol_OrgCrimeReport_web-final.pdf&amp;ei=tbZzVZCOJcqA8QXotIKgCg&amp;usg=AFQjCNHrYgQPyofvlw91dsZCdX40pjuIPA&amp;bvm=bv.95039771,d.dGc&amp;cad=rja">organised crime report</a>, the EU’s law enforcement agency, Europol, called for a new definition of organised crime. It observed:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The group structures that dominate fictional representations of organised crime are disintegrating and will increasingly give way to an organised crime landscape dominated by loose networks made up of individual criminal entrepreneurs who interact and conduct their business in a shared, and often digital, criminal underworld.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime has <a href="http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/organized-crime/index.html">recognised</a> that organised crime has diversified and become more transnational:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Organised crime is not stagnant, but adapts as new crimes emerge and as relationships between criminal networks become both more flexible and more sophisticated, with ever-greater reach around the globe.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Queensland is holding a <a href="https://www.organisedcrimeinquiry.qld.gov.au/terms-of-reference">commission into organised crime</a> to re-align its strategy and focus in combating it. The NSW Crime Commission <a href="http://www.crimecommission.nsw.gov.au/files/Organised_Crime_Disruption_Strategy_20131015.pdf">acknowledges</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Organised crime groups undertake a wider range of criminal activities with greater complexity.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Today’s organised crime occurs through loose and undefined networks made up of criminal entrepreneurs and freelancers with little concern for group branding or loyalty. Their business model is increasingly digital, concealed by legitimate activity and global in reach. </p>
<p>Australia’s geographic isolation is no longer the buttress that it once was. Globalisation has made us an attractive and available target, as Prime Minister Tony Abbott recent <a href="http://www.news.com.au/national/tony-abbott-tackles-ice-epidemic-with-national-taskforce/story-fncynjr2-1227295054582">noted</a>. Australia’s approach to organised crime must move in sync with global activity and must be evidence-based.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/42822/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Caitlin Byrne is affiliated with the Australian Institute for International Affairs.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Terry Goldsworthy does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Today's organised crime occurs through loose and undefined networks made up of criminal entrepreneurs and freelancers with little concern for group branding or loyalty.Terry Goldsworthy, Assistant Professor in Criminology, Bond UniversityCaitlin Byrne, Assistant Professor, International Relations, Bond UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/393132015-03-29T23:15:06Z2015-03-29T23:15:06ZIce in Australia: overseas crime gangs, not bikies, are the threat<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/76040/original/image-20150325-14488-173bjuu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=496&amp;fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Methylamphetamine, in particular crystal meth or &#39;ice&#39;, has been the subject of much scrutiny in Australia in recent times.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">AAP/David Crosling</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The <a href="https://www.crimecommission.gov.au/publications/intelligence-products/unclassified-strategic-assessments/australian-methylamphetamine">Australian Crime Commission (ACC) report</a> into the methylamphetamine market in Australia makes for sombre reading. Released this week, it reveals that more drugs are coming into Australia and certain forms of drug usage are increasing. A variety of crime groups are playing a role in the drug trade.</p>
<p>Methylamphetamine, in particular <a href="http://www.druginfo.adf.org.au/drug-facts/ice">crystal meth or “ice”</a>, has been the subject of much scrutiny in recent times and concern is growing among Australian authorities. The <a href="http://www.parliament.vic.gov.au/lrdcpc/article/2132">Victorian parliament</a> held an inquiry in 2013-14 into ice’s impact in the state and the government recently <a href="http://www.parliament.vic.gov.au/images/stories/LRDCPC/Ice_Inquiry/Government_response.pdf">released</a> an “Ice Action Plan” in response.</p>
<p>So, how does the ACC intelligence document help inform the debate around ice? What practical lessons can Australian society and law enforcement draw from it?</p>
<h2>The current Australian market</h2>
<p>According to the 2013 <a href="http://www.aihw.gov.au/alcohol-and-other-drugs/ndshs-2013/">National Drug Strategy Household Survey</a> (NDSHS), 7% of Australians aged 14 and above reported using amphetamine or methylamphetamine at least once in their lifetime and 2.1% reported recent use. This has remained consistent with <a href="http://www.aihw.gov.au/publication-detail/?id=32212254712">2010 figures</a>. </p>
<p>What has changed, and significantly so, is the type of methylamphetamine Australians are using.</p>
<p>Users now prefer crystal methylamphetamine. This produces more powerful physical and psychological reactions than powder forms of the drug. Users of powder forms decreased from 51% to 29% while ice use more than doubled from 22% to 50% between 2010 and 2013. National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre findings from 2014 support this conclusion.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/76039/original/image-20150325-14494-941lgd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/76039/original/image-20150325-14494-941lgd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Recent use of speed, base and crystal/ice by injecting drug users nationally, 2000-2014.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">2014 National Drug Trends Conference</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The increased addiction/dependence potential for ice as the purest form of the drug is also evident. A great proportion – 25% of regular ice users – are using at least weekly. This is a much higher rate than the 2.2% of regular powder users who use weekly. </p>
<p>Increased demand for the higher purity of ice results in Australian users in particular being prepared to pay premium prices for this form of the drug. Figures suggest that the Australian price per kilogram of crystal methylamphetamine is A$320,000, whereas in the United States it is A$100,000. In China, a country flagged by the ACC report as a key player in transnational organised drug crime, the cost is as low as <a href="http://www.unodc.org/documents/ungass2016/Contributions/Civil/DrugFreeAustralia/Changing_the_Market_Culture_for_Methamphetamines_updated_1_October_2014.pdf">A$7000 per kilogram</a>. </p>
<h2>The business of drugs</h2>
<p>The business of illegal drugs shares some elements with the business of selling legal products. Common features include lots of working capital, a steady supply of raw materials, manufacturing facilities, reliable shipping and distribution and marketing networks. But it is knowing what criminal networks are operating at what level that is the key to an effective law enforcement response.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/75940/original/image-20150325-14515-v6u93.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/75940/original/image-20150325-14515-v6u93.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Terry Goldsworthy</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>ACC data indicates that detections of clandestine laboratories decreased by approximately 6% in 2012-13. The weight of precursor material being detected at the border has also decreased, despite the number of detections increasing. </p>
<p>Conversely, the weight and amount of amphetamine-type substance (ATS) detections at the Australian border, in particular detections of ice, continue to increase. This suggests that the outstanding threat is increasingly coming from abroad. Small-time Australian players are growing reliant on transnational crime groups.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/75941/original/image-20150325-14484-64z979.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/75941/original/image-20150325-14484-64z979.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Australian Crime Commission</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The ACC’s <a href="https://www.crimecommission.gov.au/publications/intelligence-products/illicit-drug-data-report/illicit-drug-data-report-2012-13">Illicit Drug Data Report</a> flags increased seizures, border detections and associated arrests for ATS (excluding MDMA) at record highs. This echoes the findings of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime <a href="http://www.unodc.org/documents/wdr2014/World_Drug_Report_2014_web.pdf">2014 World Drug Report</a>, which identified global trends of record-high seizures of methamphetamine as compared with other ATS.</p>
<p>The ACC report indicates that transnational organised crime involvement in high-volume precursor importation and trafficking remains at high levels. Its concern about illicit importations concealed by legitimate markets is clear, particularly from a law enforcement perspective. </p>
<h2>Bikies are just part of the picture</h2>
<p><a href="http://www.qld.gov.au/law/laws-taxes-elections-and-complaints/queensland-laws-and-regulations/new-criminal-bikie-gang-laws/">Various governments</a> in Australia have made much of the role of outlaw motorcycle gangs (OMCGs) and their involvement in the methylamphetamine trade. </p>
<p>Tellingly, in this week’s report, they rate only two mentions. One is as a part of the wider criminal gang picture; the other as a case study for involvement in the drug trade in a small rural Victorian town. </p>
<p>Nowhere was the critical evidence of their dominance of this particular drug market put forward, despite what many <a href="http://www.parliament.vic.gov.au/images/stories/LRDCPC/Submissions/Submission_52_-_Victoria_Police.pdf">law enforcement agencies</a> have been claiming in recent years. The report outlines the following crime groups as being active in the meth market:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>… members of Australian-based outlaw motorcycle gangs, Australian organised crime groups as well as persons of Middle Eastern, Eastern European and West African backgrounds, and Vietnamese, Chinese, Canadian, US and Mexican serious and organised crime groups.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>As has been previously shown, while <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-end-justifies-the-means-why-queensland-is-losing-the-bikie-war-21948">OMCGs</a> no doubt have some involvement in the drug trade, they are not the kingpins.</p>
<h2>What are transnational organised crime groups?</h2>
<p>Transnational organised crime (TOC) groups are the most concerning threat to Australia when talking about organised and serious crime. They are clearly involved in the methylamphtamine market. More than 60% of Australia’s highest-risk <a href="https://www.crimecommission.gov.au/publications/intelligence-products/crime-profile-fact-sheets/methylamphetamine">criminal targets</a>, including transnational targets, are involved in the methylamphetamine market.</p>
<p>The UNODC <a href="http://www.unodc.org/pdf/crime/publications/Pilot_survey.pdf">looked at</a> 40 TOC groups and identified a number of their typologies and characteristics.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/76056/original/image-20150326-12314-1odos23.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/76056/original/image-20150326-12314-1odos23.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Transnational organised crime group typologies.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Of these TOC groups, 70% carried out criminal activity in three or more countries. Most were involved in multiple criminal enterprises. They were actively involved in corruption and routinely employed violence and engaged in money laundering.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, the ACC’s report has a broad base and lacks detailed or overly new evidence. One issue that does seem to bear consideration is the rising role of transnational crime groups. With so much focus on domestic gangs as the peak criminal threat, perhaps we have taken our eye off the ball of the real criminal threat outside Australia’s borders.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/39313/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>How does the ACC report help inform the debate around methylamphetamine, and what practical lessons can Australian society and law enforcement draw from it?Terry Goldsworthy, Assistant Professor in Criminology, Bond UniversityLaura McGillivray, Adjunct Teaching Fellow, Faculty of Society and Design, Bond UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/370202015-02-19T01:57:18Z2015-02-19T01:57:18ZIf you want to cut crime, you can't ignore the evidence<p><em>Queensland has a new Labor minority government, led by Annastacia Palaszczuk, after the shock defeat of the Liberal National Party. Labor’s pre-election promises were <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jan/20/palaszczuk-opts-for-frugality-and-federal-help-in-queensland-labor-election-bid">“modest”</a>, leaving many now wondering about the government’s policy agenda. Our experts examine some of the big challenges facing Australia’s third state.</em></p>
<hr>
<p>Dear Premier Palaszczuk,</p>
<p>The areas of law and justice are both difficult and contentious. As one former state attorney-general has described, governments often feel pressured to respond to media by enacting <a href="https://theconversation.com/justice-reform-a-better-way-to-deal-with-sexual-assault-19692">“tougher” law and order policies</a> – even if being tough doesn’t always cut crime or help the victims of it.</p>
<p>As you move into government there are three key messages to keep in mind: make law and justice policy decisions based on evidence, not populism; be open to public scrutiny on any changes you propose; and keep testing what works and what doesn’t.</p>
<p>Most of these recommendations don’t only apply to Queensland, but to other states and territories too.</p>
<h2>The crimes to watch</h2>
<p>Focus on policies that work to prevent or reduce real crime problems. Don’t be distracted by populist issues, pet projects or knee-jerk reactions. Instead, look to the substantial evidence base on what does and doesn’t work to reduce real offending.</p>
<p>Keep in mind that overall crime rates in Queensland, like the rest of Australia, have been <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-revealing-facts-on-bikie-laws-and-crime-in-queensland-35892">steadily declining</a> for about the last 15 years. </p>
<p>But while overall crime rates are decreasing, some specific types of crime are increasing, or causing significant community harm. This is where resources should be concentrated.</p>
<p>Switch the focus from issues that do not significantly impact on crime rates, such as one-punch laws or bikies, to those that do, such as domestic and alcohol-fuelled violence, mental health issues and deprived communities.</p>
<h2>A blueprint for action</h2>
<p>You have a ready-made blueprint for evidence-based crime policy in last year’s parliamentary legal affairs and community safety committee report on <a href="http://www.parliament.qld.gov.au/documents/committees/LACSC/2014/CrimeInquiry2014/rpt-082-28Nov2014.pdf">reducing criminal activity in Queensland</a>. It made 88 recommendations, including to:</p>
<ul>
<li>establish an independent agency to collate, analyse and interpret crime data and develop evidence-based policy</li>
<li>reverse the recent trend to increased imprisonment, especially for those on remand and those convicted of relatively minor offences</li>
<li>invest in prisoner education, rehabilitation and post-release support to reduce re-offending</li>
<li>trial and properly evaluate a justice re-investment approach, diverting money from jails to community-based prevention measures</li>
<li>invest in evidence-based early intervention programs to reduce offending by young people, including social support for at-risk youth</li>
<li>review decisions to abolish or reduce diversionary programs including drug, Indigenous and special circumstances courts</li>
<li>tackle the underlying issues leading to over-representation of Indigenous people in the criminal justice system, such as the lack of educational and social services in some communities.</li>
</ul>
<h2>Domestic and family violence</h2>
<p>The committee made more than 40 recommendations aimed at reducing the impact of domestic and sexual violence.</p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.qld.gov.au/community/getting-support-health-social-issue/dfv-taskforce/">special taskforce on domestic and family violence in Queensland</a>, chaired by Dame Quentin Bryce, will hand its report to your government at the end of this month. </p>
<p>Those findings – and your government’s response to them – will be closely watched not only here in Queensland but nationally, amid growing community concern about the <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/comment/we-must-support-rosie-batty-as-she-highlights-domestic-violence-20150206-136v6r.html">deadly toll</a> of family violence.</p>
<h2>Consultation, collaboration and evaluation</h2>
<p>Your government should also focus on rebuilding engagement and trust with the institutions of law and justice, and with the community. </p>
<p>Good relationships with the judiciary, legal profession, police and correctional staff are essential to an effective criminal justice system. Proposed changes to law and policy are strengthened – not threatened – by scrutiny and debate. Re-introduce or respect parliamentary and other processes that facilitate this, and welcome input from the community and relevant experts.</p>
<p>Your government should also maintain and build the evaluation, research and policy capacity of your key agencies. Cutting capacity in these areas is a false economy, resulting in poor policy and inappropriate targeting of operational staff and resources. </p>
<p>Build partnerships with the private sector and with universities to assist in developing the evidence base essential for good policy. Support your public servants to provide independent and experienced insights on difficult problems. </p>
<p>Listening to that kind of frank and fearless advice before you bring in new policies is the best way to avoid a public backlash in the long run.</p>
<p>Some people will urge you to simply tackle “law and order” problems. Aiming for law and justice for all citizens is, in many ways, a much tougher ask for a new government.</p>
<p>But if your goal is a safer Queensland, law and justice is the best way to achieve it – and that means starting with the evidence before you, and using it to build a case for change.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>Read more of The Conversation’s <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/queensland-election-2015">Queensland election 2015</a> coverage, and more ‘Dear Premier’ policy articles at the <a href="https://medium.com/the-machinery-of-government">Federal Future blog</a>.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/37020/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Janet Ransley has received funding from the Australian Research Council and the National Drugs Law Enforcement Research Fund.</span></em></p>Queensland has a new Labor minority government, led by Annastacia Palaszczuk, after the shock defeat of the Liberal National Party. Labor’s pre-election promises were “modest”, leaving many now wondering…Janet Ransley, Head of the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice, Griffith UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/358922015-01-19T19:26:14Z2015-01-19T19:26:14ZThe revealing facts on bikie laws and crime in Queensland<p>Queensland’s Liberal National government has made <a href="http://qld.lnp.org.au/more-police-resources-keep-queenslanders-safe/">law and order</a> – particularly its <a href="http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/bikies-back-on-queensland-agenda--this-time-in-governments-favour-20150105-12hziz.html">anti-bikie laws</a> – a key part of its re-election pitch. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/69349/original/image-20150119-2742-vlh8og.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/69349/original/image-20150119-2742-vlh8og.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=237&amp;fit=clip"></a>
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<p>The government recently claimed that <a href="http://statements.qld.gov.au/Statement/2015/1/5/criminal-gang-laws-keeping-queenslanders-safer">“Criminal Gang laws (are) keeping Queenslanders safer”</a> and that they have driven a general decrease in crime.</p>
<p>Yet when you compare those claims against Queensland’s crime statistics, something soon becomes clear: the spin and the statistics tell two different stories.</p>
<h2>Sunshine State’s falling crime rate</h2>
<p>An examination of the overall crime rate in Queensland indicates that it has been steadily reducing for the past 12 years. Apart for an aberration in 2011/12, this trend has been consistent.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/68260/original/image-20150106-13816-lm0xyy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/68260/original/image-20150106-13816-lm0xyy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The overall crime rate for Queensland.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Queensland Police Service</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>A reduction in general offences such as robbery, break and enters, and stolen vehicles was also attributed to the introduction of the Vicious Lawless Association Disestablishment (VLAD) laws, aimed at criminal bikie gangs.</p>
<p>However, comparison of the levels of reported property crime in Queensland year-to-year clearly show that property crime was already substantially reducing in 2013 – before the VLAD laws came into effect.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/68258/original/image-20150106-13843-1k49033.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/68258/original/image-20150106-13843-1k49033.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Year-to-year comparison of Queensland property crime sourced from Queensland Police crime data.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Terry Goldsworthy</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/crime-stats-provide-reality-check-in-queenslands-bikie-crackdown-30908">Previous analysis</a> of government data shows that bikies had little involvement in the type of offences being put forward by the government. As I’ve <a href="https://theconversation.com/a-phony-war-bikies-arent-the-only-problem-on-queenslands-glitter-strip-19231">explained before</a>, Queensland Police data indicates that outlaw motorcycle gang members commit <a href="https://www.police.qld.gov.au/programs/acglfaq.htm">only about 0.6%</a> of overall crime.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/68317/original/image-20150106-18597-1m71ffu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/68317/original/image-20150106-18597-1m71ffu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Table showing comparison of reported offences and outlaw motorcycle gang (OMCG) member arrests for January to May 2013 for the South East Region of Queensland.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Winning the media war</h2>
<p><a href="http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/queensland-war-on-bikies-turbocharged-after-top-cops-meet/story-fnn8dlfs-1227145345828?login=1">Senior Queensland police</a> have also made similar claims linking the bikie crackdown with falling crime rates in the state.</p>
<p>As part of the bikie war, the police have worked hard to win the media war, wooing and winning over most of the mainstream media, in particular the print sector. This is in alignment with objectives set out by the bikie Strategic Monitoring Team to reduce bad news stories – and their efforts have paid off.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/68322/original/image-20150106-18607-15db5kj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/68322/original/image-20150106-18607-15db5kj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Extract from Strategic Monitoring Team report obtained under Right to Information, Queensland Government.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Terry Goldsworthy</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Critically, the bikie crackdown has been <a href="http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/opinion/editorial-premier-campbell-newman-has-delivered-real-results-for-queensland/story-fnihsr9v-1227155912674">strongly backed by The Courier-Mail</a>, Queensland’s only major state-wide daily newspaper, as this recent editorial shows:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The Courier-Mail has been unashamedly supportive of the crackdown on outlaw bikie gangs, reflecting genuine fear among Queenslanders who were terrorised by these thugs acting like they ran the state.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Instead of much-needed investigative journalism on law and order, there has been far too much of what could best be described as regurgitative journalism. Too often, the government line on “cutting crime” is repeated without meaningful analysis or independent opinion being sought.</p>
<p>However, some media outlets have remained independent and on occasion have <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2015/jan/01/queensland-bikie-laws-success-claims-are-propaganda-former-outcast-says">taken the propaganda</a> to task.</p>
<p>An analysis of media reports on the bikie war by The Courier-Mail and its weekend News Corp stablemate The Sunday Mail over a two-month period showed that 60% of stories had a police viewpoint, while only 20% had independent input.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/68560/original/image-20150109-23804-1x6yxtk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/68560/original/image-20150109-23804-1x6yxtk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Analysis of Courier Mail and Sunday Mail bikie war reports over a two-month period.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Terry Goldsworthy</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Queensland’s media has been flooded with operational police stories, with seemingly every bikie arrest the subject of a specific media release. In the same period, other offenders arrested for similar offences often didn’t rate a mention. </p>
<p>In a government media statement released the day before the election was called, Queenslanders were told that since the anti-gang laws were introduced, <a href="http://statements.qld.gov.au/Statement/2015/1/5/criminal-gang-laws-keeping-queenslanders-safer">more than 1700 “criminal gang participants”</a> had been arrested.</p>
<p>Yet Right to Information data from the police showed that there were only 900 gang members in Queensland in 2013. No information was provided to the media as to exactly how many of the 1700 “gang participants” were <a href="http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/queensland-state-election-2015/queensland-election-biker-not-bikie-running-for-lytton-20150107-12js7q.html">actual criminal gang members</a>. Perhaps no-one bothered to ask.</p>
<h2>Politicisation of the police</h2>
<p>In July 2014, Queensland Police Commissioner Ian Stewart went public claiming <a href="http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/lnp-governments-criminal-reforms-pay-off-says-queenslands-top-cop-ian-stewart/story-fnihsrf2-1226988952164?nk=050c8abc22ca76b394bcbdfc1843722f">a crime reduction of at least 10%</a> before the official crime data was settled. As The Courier-Mail reported at the time:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Crime in Queensland dropped at least 10% in the past financial year, according to Police Commissioner Ian Stewart, who attributed the fall to sweeping reforms and a crackdown on bikies. The state’s top cop says he can’t release official figures yet but declared he expected to exceed his target of a 10% decrease in crime. “I don’t want to crow about it but when I started last year I said I was hopeful we would get a 10% reduction in crime, that is the reported crime … I think we’re going to exceed that and quite honestly that is a real hallmark and milestone figure.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The same day, Queensland Premier Campbell Newman used the media story to justify his government’s law-and-order efforts when giving evidence to a <a href="http://www.google.com.au/url?sa=t&amp;rct=j&amp;q=&amp;esrc=s&amp;source=web&amp;cd=1&amp;ved=0CB8QFjAA&amp;url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.parliament.qld.gov.au%2Fdocuments%2Fhansard%2F2014%2F2014_07_15_EstimatesFAC.pdf&amp;ei=9zT8U9zQMoWTuATFioLABw&amp;usg=AFQjCNH-yxxUEzgGOL-OA8Zq1R4o51NuVw&amp;bvm=bv.73612305,d.c2E">parliamentary estimates committee</a>.</p>
<p>Stewart was rightly criticised for making that claim. Less than a fortnight later, the data showed that the <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-07-26/newman-government-accused-of-cherry-picking-on-crime-rate-stats/5626414">overall crime rate</a> had decreased by only 2.1% and not "at least 10%”, leading to calls for an independent body to <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-01-09/queensland-election-2015-crime-rates-dropped-campbell-newman/6009282?section=qld">interpret and publish an overall view of crime statistics</a>.</p>
<p>Perhaps worst for the government was the fact that in an attempt to claim the much higher decrease they had discarded an entire crime category, “other crime”, as <a href="http://www.4bc.com.au/radio/qld-govt-accused-of-sugarcoating-crime-stats-20140807-3daiq.html">not being crime important to “mum and dads”</a>. This category contained domestic violence crime, which had increased some 15%. </p>
<p>Within days of this being identified in the media, the government suddenly announced an <a href="http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/former-governorgeneral-quentin-bryce-to-head-task-force-into-domestic-violence/story-fnihsrf2-1227019541404?nk=fe8b48d675a6b2587f7a8cdcf92cdae8">inquiry into domestic violence in Queensland</a>.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.goldcoastbulletin.com.au/news/coast-cop-jim-keogh-says-no-plans-to-run-for-public-office-despite-comments-on-vlad-laws/story-fnj94j0t-1227175375524">Claims by police</a> that they could not have achieved the overall crime results they have without the bikie legislation are unsustainable. </p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.peo.gov.au/learning/fact-sheets/separation-of-powers.html">separation of powers doctrine</a> would dictate that comments with political connotations, such as the ones we have seen from <a href="http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/hands-off-bikie-laws-police-warn-politicians-ahead-of-state-election/story-e6frg6n6-1227174266560?nk=1e3531afe318ce1f4d7ba4bea3090d1b">senior police</a>, should not have been made. It was the government’s failure to observe these principles in its unfounded <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-10-25/expert-lashes-newman27s-swipe-at-judicial-system/5047008">criticism of the judiciary</a> that led to a public backlash and an <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/it-pro/premier-campbell-newman-apologises-for-getting-some-things-wrong-20140721-zvaqd.html">apology</a> from Newman in July 2014.</p>
<p>Tellingly, despite the <a href="http://www.google.com.au/url?sa=t&amp;rct=j&amp;q=&amp;esrc=s&amp;source=web&amp;cd=1&amp;ved=0CB8QFjAA&amp;url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.hcourt.gov.au%2Fassets%2Fpublications%2Fjudgment-summaries%2F2014%2Fhca-46-2014-11-14.pdf&amp;ei=v4OrVJeqMIKD8gWTuoLIDg&amp;usg=AFQjCNHZp70QV2NsnaJXLgWSRtfLSi763g">High Court decision</a> in November 2014 clearing the way, not one other Australian jurisdiction has moved to implement similar bikie laws to Queensland, despite having ample time to prepare and do so. </p>
<p>In reality, other jurisdictions appear to see the VLAD laws for the distraction that they are and to realise that the laws remain untested despite <a href="http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/opinion/editorial-high-court-decision-on-bikie-laws-vindicates-newmans-tough-stand/story-fnihsr9v-1227123628285?nk=8143c97abb89f108092aad9340f73651">government claims</a> to the contrary.</p>
<h2>The opposition’s plan – what plan?</h2>
<p>If the Liberal National government’s VLAD laws are unpalatable, the alternative proposed by Labor is hardly more enticing. </p>
<p>Labor has mooted a return to utilising their <a href="http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/queensland-labor-pledges-to-scrap-extended-sentences-for-bikies-if-elected/story-fnn8dlfs-1227175354983?from=public_rss">Criminal Organisation laws</a> – laws that also have an association aspect. </p>
<p>Introduced in 2009, the “elite” anti-bikie squad, Taskforce Hydra, failed to make a single successful application in the four years following. The only application sought was against the Gold Coast Chapter of the Finks and this action was discontinued in the Supreme Court in 2014.</p>
<p>Labor has been <a href="http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2014/03/05/labor-repeal-qlds-anti-bikie-laws">all over the place</a> in its stance on bikies and crime. </p>
<p>The opposition voted with the Liberal National Party to pass the laws in October 2013, even while criticising the government’s rushed approach. Labor has since complained that the laws had “gone too far, affecting innocent Queenslanders whose only crime is to ride a motorcycle”. </p>
<p>Labor is now promising to “repeal, review and replace” the VLAD laws, with little detail on what would replace them.</p>
<p>As a former Gold Coast police detective with 28 years’ experience, I’ve investigated my fair share of bikies in the past – and as I’ve said many times, being a critic of poor policy <a href="http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/state-politics/mixed-reviews-for-campbell-newmans-blitz-on-bikies/story-e6frgczx-1226751524190">does not make me an apologist</a> for criminals in the bikies’ midst. </p>
<p>It’s just a pity that we’ve seen this area of law-and-order policy become so politicised from all sides, at the expense of giving more credit for falling crime rates where it’s due.</p>
<h2>Who deserves more credit for a safer Queensland?</h2>
<p>The current Queensland crime rate is more likely to be the product of a long-term, declining trend, combined with the Newman government employing an <a href="http://www.northweststar.com.au/story/2802311/queensland-state-election-campbell-newman-promotes-vlad-laws/?cs=12">extra 800 police</a>. </p>
<p>Those are certainly more likely to be significant factors than laws that have only been used minimally, on a single group, which commits a <a href="https://theconversation.com/crime-stats-provide-reality-check-in-queenslands-bikie-crackdown-30908">very small amount of crime</a>. </p>
<p>The issues of better resourcing, better crime management and an actual commitment by senior police to deal with criminal groups are the real reasons for recent successes.</p>
<p>The government’s own bikie Strategic Monitoring Team has recognised this. Last year, the former army officer heading the team <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-07-22/queensland-police-winning-battle-against-bikies-on-gold-coast/5614982">told the ABC</a> that significant decreases in Gold Coast crime could “be attributed to more police available to carry out operations on the Gold Coast and the targeted nature of the enforcement activity”.</p>
<p>Politicians of all stripes will always try to take credit for falling crime rates. But the media and voters need to look beyond the official spin and give credit where it’s really due for the long-term decline in Queensland crime: in particular, to the many unheralded police officers doing their jobs.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>Read more of The Conversation’s <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/queensland-election-2015">Queensland election 2015</a> coverage.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/35892/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Terry Goldsworthy does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Queensland’s Liberal National government has made law and order – particularly its anti-bikie laws – a key part of its re-election pitch. The government recently claimed that “Criminal Gang laws (are…Terry Goldsworthy, Assistant Professor, Criminology, Bond UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/311032014-11-17T02:46:35Z2014-11-17T02:46:35ZHigh Court invites fresh challenge to Queensland's bikie laws<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/64669/original/g2mqbtk2-1416185409.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=496&amp;fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">In a 6:1 decision, the High Court upheld the validity of two offences created under Queensland&#39;s anti-bikie measures.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">AAP/Dan Peled</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Last Friday, the High Court handed down its <a href="http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/cases/cth/HCA/2014/46.html">decision</a> in a constitutional challenge to Queensland’s <a href="http://theconversation.com/hells-angel-takes-on-bikie-laws-in-court-but-what-are-his-chances-24619">controversial suite</a> of anti-bikie laws. This decision is as interesting for what it does not decide as for what it does.</p>
<p>Stefan Kuczborski, a Hells Angel, argued that the laws infringe the independence and integrity of Queensland’s courts and therefore violate the Australian Constitution. But, in a 6:1 decision, the High Court upheld the validity of two offences created by the <a href="https://www.legislation.qld.gov.au/LEGISLTN/ACTS/2013/13AC045.pdf">Criminal Law (Criminal Organisations Disruption) Amendment Act 2013 (Qld)</a>. </p>
<p>However, all seven justices refused to consider the validity of the <a href="https://www.legislation.qld.gov.au/LEGISLTN/ACTS/2013/13AC047.pdf">Vicious Lawless Association Disestablishment Act 2013</a> (also known as the “VLAD” Act) or certain amendments to the Criminal Code and the Bail Act. This leaves open the possibility that these latter schemes violate the Constitution.</p>
<h2>New offences upheld</h2>
<p>The High Court upheld two offences created by the Disruption Act. The first offence is committed when three or more “participants” in a “declared criminal organisation” meet in public. It attracts a mandatory minimum sentence of six months imprisonment.</p>
<p>To date, Queensland’s attorney-general, Jarrod Bleijie, has declared <a href="http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/premier-campbell-newman-releases-list-of-bikie-gangs-to-be-declared-as-criminal-organisations-under-tough-new-laws/story-fnihsrf2-1226740604485">26 criminal organisations</a>, including the Hells Angels. A participant in a criminal organisation is identified as someone who in any way asserts or seeks membership of the organisation – for example, by wearing the group’s logo. Thus, if Kuzcborski met two people in public who were wearing Hells Angels jackets or badges, that meeting alone could send each of them to jail for a mandatory minimum period of six months.</p>
<p>In order to defend the charge, the accused may prove that the declared organisation does not have a criminal purpose.</p>
<p>In a joint judgment, High Court justices Crennan, Kiefel, Gageler and Keane acknowledged that:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>… the possible reach of these laws is very wide, and even their operation may be excessive and harsh. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>However, the justices emphasised that the role of the High Court is not “to pass judgement on the political wisdom of the impugned laws”. They observed that:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>… to demonstrate that a law may lead to harsh outcomes, even disproportionately harsh outcomes, is not, of itself, to demonstrate constitutional invalidity.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The justices recognised that the constitutional question was not whether the laws were good or bad, or even whether they disproportionately inhibit rights and liberties. The constitutional question was limited to the impact of the laws on judicial independence. </p>
<p>For a majority of the High Court, the process that a Queensland court would engage in when applying the Disruption Act was the usual process of considering evidence and hearing submissions in order to reach an independent determination. The availability of a defence underscored that the Queensland court would be able to reconsider the attorney-general’s classification of a particular organisation as “criminal”.</p>
<p>The majority decision employed similar reasoning to uphold new offences created by the <a href="https://www.legislation.qld.gov.au/LEGISLTN/CURRENT/T/TattooParA13.pdf">Tattoo Parlours Act 2013</a>. These involve the carrying or display of certain symbols of membership of “declared criminal organisations”.</p>
<p>Justice Hayne dissented. For him, the “vice in the provisions” arose from the attorney-general’s determination of which organisations are “criminal organisations”. Hayne interpreted the provisions uniquely, reasoning that they require a court to give the attorney-general’s “opaque, forensically untested and effectively untestable” decision to declare a criminal organisation the same legal effect as a similar judicial decision. This amounted to an “assimilation” of two distinct kinds of power (judicial and executive) exercised in very different ways. </p>
<p>Thus, for Justice Hayne, the provisions violated the constitutional separation of powers. He was not convinced that the available defence was effective or could remedy this constitutional invalidity.</p>
<h2>Some aspects could be invalid</h2>
<p>Kuczborski challenged two further aspects of the anti-bikie laws. First, he challenged amendments to the <a href="http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/qld/consol_act/ba198041/">Bail Act</a> that reverse the presumption that bail should be granted in matters concerning “participants in a criminal organisation”. </p>
<p>Kuczborski also challenged the VLAD Act and similar amendments to the Criminal Code, which impose onerous mandatory prison sentences on persons who commit certain offences in criminal groups or who are participants in a criminal organisation.</p>
<p>Generally, some specific interest is required in order to gain standing to challenge a law in the High Court. Although Kuczborski admitted to being a “participant in a criminal organisation” (the Hells Angels), he had not been charged with a relevant offence or said that he intended to commit such an offence.</p>
<p>These particular provisions had no more immediate bearing on Kuzcborski’s rights or liberties than on any other Queenslander’s. As a result, the High Court found that it was unable to hear this aspect of the challenge. Therefore, the High Court simply did not consider the validity of these provisions.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/64672/original/nctgxy9x-1416186194.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The High Court found that it was unable to resolve some aspects of Kuczborski’s challenge.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">AAP/Lukas Coch</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>What next?</h2>
<p>This case was not only fought between Kuczborski and the state of Queensland. The Commonwealth, New South Wales, the Northern Territory, South Australia, Victoria and Western Australia all intervened to support the validity of the laws. </p>
<p>Almost immediately after the decision was handed down, jurisdictions such as <a href="http://www.goldcoastbulletin.com.au/news/breaking-news/qld-bikie-laws-appealing-sa-govt/story-fnjbnvyk-1227123308668">South Australia</a> and the <a href="http://www.perthnow.com.au/news/breaking-news/court-rejects-challenge-to-qld-bikie-laws/story-fnhrvfuw-1227122720200?nk=614e3d2a3065a6d6b6db4c956b8e1af2">Northern Territory</a> indicated they would consider following Queensland’s lead and enact similar laws.</p>
<p>In a <a href="http://www.law.unimelb.edu.au/mulr/issues/forthcoming-issue">recent study</a> conducted by UNSW law professor George Williams and myself, we observed the trend of organised crime measures migrating across state jurisdictions. This can lead to a process of normalisation: extreme measures become the norm, pushing governments to reach for new extremes in an effort to “crack down” and look “tough on crime”. Concerns of effectiveness and personal liberty can be sidelined as governments focus on winning the “war on bikies”.</p>
<p>Recent history suggests that the High Court’s decision may facilitate the spread of these kinds of “guilt by association” schemes across Australia, and even lead to more extreme laws.</p>
<p>The laws may be constitutional, but that does not mean they should be adopted across Australia. The Disruption Act in particular has been <a href="http://theconversation.com/knowing-the-case-against-you-secrecy-is-eroding-fair-process-22686">controversial in Queensland</a>. Its effectiveness is questionable and, as the High Court recognised, its reach extends well beyond the targeted bikie groups and has the capacity to severely curtail individual freedoms. </p>
<p>Simply because the High Court upheld the laws in keeping with judicial independence does not mean that the laws are necessary, effective or in line with vaguer constitutional ideals such as personal liberty, freedom of movement and association, or equality before the law.</p>
<p>As for the VLAD Act and amendments to the Criminal Code and Bail Act, this decision gives no indication of their potential validity. If another jurisdiction adopts these laws, that government will face the prospect of another constitutional challenge, most likely brought by someone with clear standing.</p>
<p>It is disappointing that days of argument in the High Court failed to result in a decision on the validity of all the challenged provisions. For lawyers, this case is a warning to take issues of standing seriously before launching an action. For the community, it demonstrates the limited scope and incremental pace of constitutional litigation. </p>
<p>If Australians seek to have their rights and liberties comprehensively protected, they may be better to pursue political action. Crucially, they need to ensure that such laws are comprehensively reviewed and carefully considered at the time of their enactment.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/31103/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rebecca Ananian-Welsh does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Last Friday, the High Court handed down its decision in a constitutional challenge to Queensland’s controversial suite of anti-bikie laws. This decision is as interesting for what it does not decide as…Rebecca Ananian-Welsh, Lecturer, TC Beirne School of Law, The University of QueenslandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/327272014-10-14T00:21:49Z2014-10-14T00:21:49ZCareful who you chat with: it could turn you into a criminal<p>Next time you strike up a conversation at your local coffee shop, have a chat in the pub after work, or have a natter with fellow dog lovers as you follow your pooch around the park, you may want to get in early with a few key questions. Like, “Do you have a criminal record?” If yes, I suggest you ask a delicate follow-up: “How serious was your crime?” </p>
<p>Granted, questions like these are likely to kill the conversation buzz. They will probably cause your new friend to seek company elsewhere. But according to a <a href="http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/cases/cth/HCA/2014/35.html">High Court decision</a> handed down last week, if you don’t take these precautions, you might be placing yourself at risk of being charged with a serious criminal offence yourself.</p>
<p>You see, under <a href="http://www5.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/nsw/consol_act/ca190082/s93x.html">section 93X</a> of the <em>Crimes Act 1900</em> (NSW) it is an offence to “habitually consort” (i.e. communicate more than once) with convicted offenders. The penalty is three years’ imprisonment or a $16,500 fine, or both.</p>
<p>The legislation has a few “safeguards” that are meant to make us breathe a little easier.</p>
<p>The person must have been convicted of an <em>indictable</em> offence. But that is still a very long list. It includes everything from serious crimes such as murder to minor offences such as shoplifting.</p>
<p>You have to communicate with not just one, but <em>two</em> convicted offenders (though not necessarily at once and it doesn’t have to be in person - the legislation covers phone, email and social media communications too). The police have to give you a “warning”, so you can’t later claim that you didn’t know your coffee buddy or Facebook friend was a bad guy.</p>
<p>It gets worse. If the person you are chatting with has a criminal record, it doesn’t matter what you talk about. If you are charged with consorting, the police don’t have to prove that you were discussing anything naughty, let alone planning a crime.</p>
<p>Your mate could be explaining why he loves Manchester United, sharing the gory details of her mother’s hip replacement, grieving over the axing of your favourite TV show or making plans for a charity fun run next weekend. It doesn’t matter when it comes to consorting. </p>
<p>The rationale seems to be that people who have committed a crime in the past can never be trusted again, even after they have “done their time”. So much for punishing and stigmatising people only for what they do rather than who they are (or were).</p>
<h2>It’s not just really bad people who’ve been charged</h2>
<p>Of course, if we take the government at its word, most of us have nothing to worry about. Surely it’s only bikies and terrorists and the like who are going to be on the receiving end of a consorting warning or charge? </p>
<p>Certainly, when the NSW government re-introduced and beefed up consorting laws back in 2012, <a href="http://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/prod/parlment/nswbills.nsf/0/78ba9fab337ef090ca2579a400142147/%24FILE/CRIMES%20AMENDMENT.pdf">it indicated</a> that the laws, and the powers they gave police, were necessary to break up the criminal activities of outlaw motorcycle and other organised crime gangs.</p>
<p>There are two problems with this reassurance. First, nothing in the drafting of the legislation limits its operation to bikies and organised crime gangs, or to the planning of crimes. Second, others are getting caught up in the very wide web of consorting laws. </p>
<p>The first man charged with consorting after the 2012 revival in NSW, Charlie Forster, was not a bikie or a crime lord. As described in a <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/controversial-nsw-consorting-laws-to-target-bikie-gangs-valid-high-court-finds-20141008-10rqwv.html">press report</a>, he was “an intellectually disabled 21-year-old from Inverell, in northern NSW, who was charged with consorting while grocery shopping with his housemate”.</p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/61512/original/p9r8dqzb-1413165728.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=237&amp;fit=clip">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">When the Office of NSW Ombudsman Bruce Barbour reviewed the first year of the new consorting laws, it found more than 100 cases of misuse.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Office of NSW Ombudsman</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>When the Office of the NSW Ombudsman completed a <a href="https://www.ombo.nsw.gov.au/news-and-publications/publications/reports/legislative-reviews/consorting-issues-paper-review-of-the-use-of-the-consorting-provisions-by-the-nsw-police-force-division-7-part-3a-of-the-crimes-act-1900">preliminary review</a> of the consorting law in 2013 (a final report is due later this year) it expressed concern that it was being used against vulnerable and disadvantaged groups, including Aboriginal people and the homeless. Police issued <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/nsw-consorting-laws-about-100-people-given-wrong-warnings-by-police-20140207-3273v.html">warnings to more than 100 people</a> when they had no authority to do so.</p>
<h2>Bad law puts our basic rights at risk</h2>
<p>Although it grabs the <a href="http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/high-court-rejects-challenge-to-controversial-nsw-bikie-laws/story-e6frg6n6-1227084062541">headlines</a>, constitutional litigation in the High Court of Australia is a seriously problematic way of challenging the fairness and legitimacy of even the most outrageous parliamentary over-criminalisation. Why? Because the High Court is a conservative place and the judges will only work with the tools the Constitution gives them. When it come to rights and liberties, there are very few.</p>
<p>The NSW consorting laws (and <a href="http://www.mulr.com.au/issues/37_1/37_1_3.pdf">similar laws</a> in other parts of Australia) are patently inconsistent with the fundamental human right of freedom of association. This is enshrined in Article 22 of the UN <a href="http://www.ohchr.org/en/professionalinterest/pages/ccpr.aspx">International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR)</a>. The problem is that even though Australia has been a party to the ICCPR for decades, neither the Constitution nor any statute enacted by Parliament formally recognises this right.</p>
<p>There are further problems with relying on the High Court to be the voice of reason and praying that it will rein in bad law-making. If the law is found to be valid, the relevant state government can puff out its chest and boast that the law in question has the High Court’s tick of approval. The reality is that the High Court only ever adjudicates on narrow technical constitutional issues when scrutinising legislation, rather than undertaking a holistic review of the merits of a law.</p>
<p>Tellingly, three of the judges that upheld the NSW consorting law said: “The desirability of consorting provisions … is not relevant to the task before the Court.” Sad but true.</p>
<p>Even when a constitutional challenge to zealous over-criminalisation “succeeds”, the win is often short-lived. For example, when the High Court struck down the <em>Crimes (Criminal Organisations Control) Act 2009</em> (NSW) in <a href="http://www.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/sinodisp/au/cases/cth/HCA/2011/24.html?stem=0&amp;synonyms=0&amp;query=wainohuhttp://example.com/"><em>Wainohu v NSW</em> (2011) 243 CLR 181</a> - another law that criminalised association by allowing police to seek court orders banning named bikies from having any contact with each other - how did the NSW government respond? Did it retreat in response to the High Court’s chastisement? </p>
<p>Hardly. Its lawyers produced a slightly modified version of the legislation that addressed the flaws that the High Court had effectively marked up in red pen. We now have the new and improved <em>Crimes (Criminal Organisations Control) Act 2012</em> (NSW). It’s another outrageous example of the criminalisation of who a person is rather than what they do, but this time “High Court-proof”. </p>
<p>The upshot of this sorry tale is that we need to find better ways to discourage our legislators from passing bad laws in the first place. This is a daunting task when so many governments are willing to trash <a href="https://theconversation.com/is-rational-law-reform-still-possible-in-a-shock-jock-tabloid-world-30416">principles in favour of pragmatism</a>. The recent instance of <a href="https://theconversation.com/not-for-punishment-we-need-to-understand-bail-not-review-it-28651">knee-jerk bail law “reform” in NSW</a> is another case in point. </p>
<p>But we need to find a way, not least if we want to socialise in peace without having to ask our friends and acquaintances intrusive questions about their past. No one should be exposed to the risk of police harassment or a stint in prison simply because of the so-called “bad character” of the person with whom they have decided to have a conversation.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/32727/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Luke McNamara does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Next time you strike up a conversation at your local coffee shop, have a chat in the pub after work, or have a natter with fellow dog lovers as you follow your pooch around the park, you may want to get…Luke McNamara, Professor of Law, University of WollongongLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/309082014-08-31T20:07:59Z2014-08-31T20:07:59ZCrime stats provide reality check in Queensland's bikie crackdown<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/57580/original/mxmqbh5k-1409183876.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=496&amp;fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">How was the anti-bikie strategy in Queensland framed, and what has it achieved so far?</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">AAP/Dean Lewins</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Queensland’s <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/crack-down-20140609-39rul.html">bikie crackdown</a> and its associated legislative measures have polarised public opinion on the necessity and success of this approach. So with a <a href="https://theconversation.com/hells-angel-takes-on-bikie-laws-in-court-but-what-are-his-chances-24619">High Court challenge</a> to the new laws <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-08-25/australian-states-pledge-support-for-queensland-vlad-laws-bikies/5695412">due to be heard</a>, how was the anti-bikie strategy in Queensland framed, and what has it achieved?</p>
<h2>Overall strategy</h2>
<p>An interim report by the <a href="http://mypolice.qld.gov.au/blog/2013/12/06/strategic-monitoring-team/">Strategic Monitoring Team</a> (SMT), the body responsible for the overall anti-bikie strategy, to the Queensland Security Committee in April 2014 outlined a <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-07-22/queensland-police-winning-battle-against-bikies-on-gold-coast/5614982">six-pronged attack</a> on outlaw motorcycle gangs (OMCGs).</p>
<p>These lines of operation include:</p>
<ul>
<li>legislative reform to deal with proposed threats;</li>
<li>enforcement and prevention;</li>
<li><a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-07-25/businesses-targetted-by-new-anti-bikie-licensing/5625676">denial of economic opportunities</a>;</li>
<li>engaging community support through targeted public relations strategies;</li>
<li>restriction of criminal activity whilst incarcerated; and</li>
<li>security and anti-corruption measures.</li>
</ul>
<h2>Not all bikies are criminals</h2>
<p>One of the strongest arguments to support the Queensland government’s crackdown is that the overwhelming majority of bikies are supposedly hardened criminals. </p>
<p>However, data I obtained through Right to Information provides a more accurate picture of criminality within OMCGs. This data shows that the majority of bikies in the majority of clubs have no criminal history. If you include all OMCGs listed in the government data, it shows that approximately 60% of members have no criminal history. </p>
<p>The highest levels of criminality is limited to just two clubs, the Bandidos and the Lone Wolves. A number of the <a href="http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/premier-campbell-newman-releases-list-of-bikie-gangs-to-be-declared-as-criminal-organisations-under-tough-new-laws/story-fnihsrf2-1226740604485">clubs</a> proscribed by the legislation as criminal organisations don’t even feature in the government data. The data examined both confirmed and unconfirmed gang members under the generic term “participants”.</p>
<h2>The lack of criminal enterprise in the gang structure</h2>
<p>One of the premises used as justification for the crackdown was that OMCGs commit high-level, serious organised crime, and that they do that within the structure of a gang. It was to this end that the Vicious Lawless Association Disestablishment (or VLAD) <a href="https://www.qld.gov.au/law/laws-taxes-elections-and-complaints/queensland-laws-and-regulations/new-criminal-bikie-gang-laws/">laws</a> were introduced. As Mick Niland, head of Queensland police’s anti-bikie taskforce, <a href="http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/brisbane-live/qa-taskforce-chief-mick-niland-answers-reader-questions-20140213-32jbb.html">said</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>[VLAD] is specifically designed to dismantle criminal organisations and based loosely on the RICO laws of the United States and Canada. In those countries these laws have been a success in dismantling large criminal gangs such as the Mafia in different states of North America. We will use these VLAD laws not only for criminal motorcycle gangs but criminal gangs the length and breadth of the state.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>There has been a concerning failure of the VLAD laws to illustrate the criminal enterprise taking place within the gangs. Senior police struggle to provide any correlational evidence linking OMCGs to the epicentre of organised crime. Rather, they are just bit players – like many other criminal gangs. As the Australian Crime Commission <a href="https://www.crimecommission.gov.au/organised-crime/organised-crime-groups/outlaw-motor-cycle-gangs">says</a>: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>They are just one part of the organised crime picture in Australia.</p>
</blockquote>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/w7r_Sq_T-A8?wmode=transparent&amp;start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">A Vice News story on the state of Australian bikies.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In <a href="http://www.google.com.au/url?sa=t&amp;rct=j&amp;q=&amp;esrc=s&amp;source=web&amp;cd=1&amp;ved=0CB8QFjAA&amp;url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.parliament.qld.gov.au%2Fdocuments%2Fhansard%2F2014%2F2014_07_15_EstimatesFAC.pdf&amp;ei=9zT8U9zQMoWTuATFioLABw&amp;usg=AFQjCNH-yxxUEzgGOL-OA8Zq1R4o51NuVw&amp;bvm=bv.73612305,d.c2E">estimate hearings</a> last month, Queensland premier Campbell Newman admitted that only 11 bikies – or 1% – of 1113 criminal gang participants had been charged under the provisions of the VLAD laws as having conducted criminal activity of behalf of the gangs.</p>
<p>Even after eight months of the crackdown, the share of <a href="http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/exiled-queensland-bikies-head-interstate-and-overseas-to-rebuild-crime-networks/story-fnihsrf2-1226937857850">organised crime offences</a> – drug production, trafficking, supply, extortion, fraud and money laundering – was only 8.2% of total charges. But of more concern is that the SMT in April noted that approximately 8% of the charges laid during the bikie crackdown had failed to reach a successful prosecution.</p>
<h2>Recent decreases in crime not linked to the bikie war</h2>
<p>Both the <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-07-22/interim-report-on-bikie-laws-shows-crime-down-on-gold-coast/5616072">SMT report</a> and the public comments by <a href="http://www.sunshinecoastdaily.com.au/news/premier-campbell-newman-backs-jarrod-bleijie/2296952/">government MPs</a> have attempted to link the bikie war to reductions in general crime categories such as unlawful entry offences, robberies, assaults and frauds. </p>
<p>However, an examination of five months of police data from January 2013 to May 2013 for the Gold Coast and Logan areas reveals almost no bikie involvement in these crime categories. These figures were before the bikie crackdown, when bikie activity could be expected to show higher levels of criminality.</p>
<p>Also of interest is that <a href="http://mypolice.qld.gov.au/goldcoast/2013/04/10/police-continue-active-pursuit-of-outlaw-motorcycle-gang-omcg-illicit-activities/">60% of these arrests</a> were attributed by police to non-members – termed “associates”. Minor charges such as drug and utensil possession, breach of bail and unlicensed driving made up 42% of the total charges.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/57390/original/6jjhk7x4-1409050010.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/57390/original/6jjhk7x4-1409050010.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Comparison of reported offences and OMCG arrests for January-May 2013 in southeastern Queensland.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Queensland Police Service</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><a href="http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/lnp-governments-criminal-reforms-pay-off-says-queenslands-top-cop-ian-stewart/story-fnihsrf2-1226988952164">Police data</a> shows that crime was already decreasing in Queensland in the 12 months prior to the introduction of the bikie laws. Also, despite <a href="http://statements.qld.gov.au/Statement/2014/8/6/crime-down-and-queensland-families-safer">claims of an 11% decrease</a> in crime in Queensland, <a href="http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/queensland-crime-rate-drops-by-two-per-cent-20140806-101697.html">media</a> and <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-07-26/newman-government-accused-of-cherry-picking-on-crime-rate-stats/5626414">academics</a> identified that the actual reduction in crime for 2013-14 was only 2%.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/kObgDlRGEKk?wmode=transparent&amp;start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">The tattoo industry has come under fire as part of the bikie crackdown.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Marketing the laws</h2>
<p>The SMT report refers to background briefings being given to journalists in an effort to reduce negative stories about the anti-bikie measures. Senior police have met with journalists and are actively marketing good news stories about the crackdown. </p>
<p>The closeness of the relationship is exemplified by this email (obtained under Right to Information) containing sensitive police intelligence, which a senior SMT member sent in April 2014 to one media outlet:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Your last piece on the CMG’s was right. Where have all the public supporters of them gone? Many have gone to ground for various reasons (like egg on their faces) … Attached is a PDF with the information and breakdown of CMG participants with Queensland Criminal Histories … also attached is the spin and facts sheets I have sent you in the past just in case you need it.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Within days, the Courier-Mail was trumpeting the story as an <a href="http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/queenslands-outlaw-motorcycle-gang-members-are-overwhelming-criminals-with-serious-convictions/story-fnihsrf2-1226903844876">exclusive release</a> by senior police designed to:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>… be an embarrassment to civil libertarians and the Labor Party that seeks to wind back the tough new laws.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>In reality, despite the claims from senior police, all of the results of crackdown <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-06-25/bikie-crime-would-increase-if-qlds-vlad-laws-were-repealed/5550016">could have been achieved</a> without any of the laws. The bikie laws are punitive in nature and add no new powers for police to investigate criminal offences. This was proven when police rolled out a <a href="http://www.goldcoastbulletin.com.au/news/crime-court/police-raids-leave-gold-coast-drug-trade-reeling/story-fnje8bkv-1226890882002">number of operations</a> in early 2014 to give impact to the bikie war. </p>
<p>Most operations were not bikie-related. They all achieved their outcomes without relying on the legislation passed for the bikie crackdown. Two of them began more than a year before the bikie crackdown.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/57424/original/zr34zkj3-1409088787.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/57424/original/zr34zkj3-1409088787.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A snapshot of police operations during the initial period of the bikie crackdown.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Queensland Police Service</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The High Court case</h2>
<p>Despite the High Court’s preparedness to hear a challenge to the bikie laws’ validity, almost all other <a href="http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/other-states-to-support-queenslands-vlad-laws-in-bikies-high-court-challenge/story-fnihsrf2-1227035192030">Australian states</a> are poised to roll our similar legislation to Queensland’s. This may represent a turning point in Australian criminal law. The man who introduced the current set of draconian measures, Queensland attorney-general Jarrod Bleijie, <a href="https://www.parliament.qld.gov.au/work-of-assembly/sitting-dates/dates/2009/2009-11-25">highlighted</a> the danger of association laws in his speech against Labor’s proposed criminal association laws in 2009:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>This bill is an attack on the right of freedom of association … While I agree that people need to be protected from organised crime, there must also be the protection of personal liberties such as the freedom of association … This bill encroaches on their personal freedoms and liberties. A government that tries to remove these freedoms and liberties is a government that is to be feared.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The anti-bikie measures also appear ironic in the context of the Queensland government’s recent resistance to broad-based, draconian measures in its fight against alcohol-fuelled violence. It has <a href="http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/newman-confident-queensland-will-lead-the-way-with-safe-night-strategy-20140827-1095ro.html#ixzz3Bd1Z2YHC">argued</a> against the changes on the basis of “not punishing the many for the sins of the few”. Newman said:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>We are going to target the troublemakers, not the majority. We are going to target the troublemakers and actually send a strong message to them that their violence and anti-social behaviour is not acceptable.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>A cynical person might think that the liquor industry is not as easy a target as the bikies.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/30908/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Terry Goldsworthy does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Queensland’s bikie crackdown and its associated legislative measures have polarised public opinion on the necessity and success of this approach. So with a High Court challenge to the new laws due to be…Terry Goldsworthy, Assistant Professor, Criminology, Bond UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/280292014-06-16T04:29:16Z2014-06-16T04:29:16ZHistory of unchecked executive haunts Queensland in judge fight<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/51097/original/322mznmv-1402873347.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=496&amp;fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The Queensland government is playing brinkmanship with the state’s legal fraternity over the appointment of Tim Carmody (centre) to Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">AAP/Dan Peled</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The Queensland government’s <a href="http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/chief-magistrate-tim-carmody-appointed-queenslands-top-judge-20140612-zs5q0.html">appointment of Tim Carmody</a> as Chief Justice of that state’s Supreme Court is, without doubt, the most controversial judicial appointment in the nation’s history. This is because it highlights, like none before it, the fragility of fundamental principles about how power is held and checked under Australia’s constitutional system.</p>
<p>There have certainly been earlier instances when a judicial appointment was criticised. However, those tended to focus simply on perceived deficiencies in the individual candidate’s qualifications or experience. </p>
<p>Occasionally, an appointment was also seen as too partisan, such as when Labor prime minister Gough Whitlam appointed his attorney-general, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lionel_Murphy">Lionel Murphy</a>, to the High Court. The Menzies government had earlier appointed <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garfield_Barwick">Garfield Barwick</a> from its ministry to the High Court, but that attracted less consternation because of Barwick’s towering reputation as a barrister. Such blatant political appointments, once accepted, are now a thing of the past.</p>
<p>Even against that history, nothing compares with the firestorm unleashed when the Newman government formally announced last week, after much negative advance speculation, the Carmody appointment. It is no overstatement to say that it has precipitated all-out hostility between the unrepentant executive and the legal fraternity in Queensland.</p>
<p>On its own, it is remarkable that Queensland Bar Association president Peter Davis QC, <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-06-14/peter-davis-qc-speaks-after-resiging-from-queensland-bar-assoc/5524124">resigned in protest</a> at the apparent leaking of confidential discussions he had with attorney-general Jarrod Bleijie about contenders for the vacant office. </p>
<p>Those claims follow <a href="https://theconversation.com/politicising-advice-a-cautionary-tale-for-all-governments-24773">controversy</a> from some months back over Bleijie’s reporting to the media statements attributed to the president of the Queensland Court of Appeal, Justice Margaret McMurdo. Those remarks were also on the topic of who might be appointed to vacancies on the bench.</p>
<p>The stand taken by Davis that he cannot represent the bar in a process that he believes to be lacking in integrity was <a href="http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/australian-bar-association-president-mark-livesey-qc-accuses-minister-ian-walker-of-silencing-debate-on-appointment-of-judges/story-fnihsrf2-1226955104445">strongly endorsed</a> over the weekend by the Australian Bar Association, which consulted with all state bodies across the country.</p>
<p>But even this pales beside the sight of senior retired judicial figures and leading members of the profession attacking the announcement of Carmody’s appointment. Despite the picture that Queensland premier Campbell Newman and Bleijie have tried to paint over the last few months – mostly in their battle to gain acceptance of draconian anti-bikie laws – judges are pretty conservative and discreet people. When they criticise they prefer to employ euphemism over blunt language. </p>
<p>Typically, judges never publicly voice dismay over another’s judicial appointment. So to hear Tony Fitzgerald, former Court of Appeal president and head of the anti-corruption inquiry that transformed Queensland in the 1980s, <a href="https://au.news.yahoo.com/a/24225740/qld-government-appoints-tim-carmody-as-chief-justice-amid-concerns-about-impartiality/">describe</a> Carmody as one of those “people whose ambition exceeds their ability” and then Newman and Bleijie as “megalomaniacs” is astounding.</p>
<p>Former state judge George Fryberg <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-06-12/qld-government-appoints-tim-carmody-as-chief-justice/5519358">also criticised</a> the appointment in very frank terms. Walter Sofronoff SC, until recently Queensland’s solicitor-general, urged Carmody to realise it was all a <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-06-13/top-silk-slams-carmody-appointment-as-horrible/5523566?section=qld">“horrible mistake”</a> and to decline the appointment.</p>
<p>This sort of public condemnation is unprecedented. What’s behind it is much more than disquiet about Carmody’s experience and qualities for the top judicial office in the state. As Sofronoff carefully detailed in an <a href="http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/opinion/opinion-chief-magistrate-tim-carmodys-links-to-executive-rule-him-out-for-chief-justice/story-fnihsr9v-1226948738232">extraordinary op-ed</a> before the appointment was even announced, Carmody has on several occasions displayed an inappropriate closeness to the executive. </p>
<p>Having been in the job of Chief Magistrate for a mere nine months, Carmody has been something of a <a href="http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/minister-tells-lawyers-to-put-a-sock-in-it-over-carmody-20140615-zs8dt.html">cheerleader</a> for Queensland’s controversial <a href="https://theconversation.com/bikie-laws-fall-foul-of-law-of-unintended-consequences-21740">anti-bikie laws</a>. Additionally, Carmody, alone of the state’s judges, thought it appropriate to issue a statement expressing his <a href="http://www.news.com.au/national/queensland/chief-magistrate-tim-carmody-enters-political-fray-to-support-attorneygeneral-jarrod-bleijie-in-judiciary-feud/story-fnii5v6w-1226864784432">support for Bleijie</a> when the leaked conversation with McMurdo blew up.</p>
<p>Carmody’s appointment is seen as undermining the separation of powers in Queensland. Newman once described that fundamental principle as <a href="http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/campbell-newman-tells-lawyers-to-leave-ivory-towers-20131024-2w318.html">“more of an American thing”</a>. That displays an embarrassing – or wilful – ignorance of constitutional arrangements throughout the country, including at the federal level.</p>
<p>More importantly, anyone who grew up in Queensland a generation ago and saw the <a href="http://www.cmc.qld.gov.au/about-the-cmc/the-fitzgerald-inquiry">Fitzgerald inquiry</a> dealing with the results of unchecked executive power knows just how precious and vital it is to have an independent judiciary. Newman, originally from Tasmania, might be advised to examine that history more closely.</p>
<p>At the moment, the Queensland government is playing brinkmanship with the state’s legal fraternity. Newman and Bleijie are probably emboldened by a belief that people don’t like lawyers much, especially when they gang up on someone like Carmody, whom Newman said was just a <a href="http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/latest-news/qld-chief-justice-to-be-announced-soon/story-fn3dxiwe-1226951716939">“knockabout bloke”</a>.</p>
<p>But the public do not have blind faith in politicians either. When what is at stake is ensuring that government is held to proper account in the use of its constitutional powers, the legal profession has a duty to speak up. And the people are likely to be an understanding audience.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/28029/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Andrew Lynch does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The Queensland government’s appointment of Tim Carmody as Chief Justice of that state’s Supreme Court is, without doubt, the most controversial judicial appointment in the nation’s history. This is because…Andrew Lynch, Professor, Gilbert + Tobin Centre of Public Law, UNSWLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/246192014-03-21T02:58:17Z2014-03-21T02:58:17ZHells Angel takes on bikie laws in court, but what are his chances?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/44392/original/6yc45k5s-1395313690.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=496&amp;fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The first legal challenge to Queensland&#39;s hardline anti-bikie laws is set to hit the High Court. But what are its chances of success?</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">AAP/Dan Peled</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Hells Angel Stefan Kuczborski has <a href="http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/state-politics/bikies-saddle-up-for-high-court-showdown-on-newmans-antigang-laws/story-e6frgczx-1226858509243?sv=f002fbbbbed016a52e9a57f77dc48899#">launched a constitutional challenge</a> to more than a dozen sections of the Newman government’s notorious anti-bikie laws in Queensland. These include the <a href="http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/qld/consol_act/vlada2013473/">Vicious Lawless Associations Disestablishment Act</a> (the “VLAD Act”) and the <a href="http://kirra.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/qld/bill/clodab2013569/">Criminal Law (Criminal Organisations Disruption) Amendment Act</a> (the “CODA”).</p>
<p>These two pieces of legislation were introduced, debated and enacted in one day, without public consultation, last October. The nature and impact of the laws <a href="https://theconversation.com/factcheck-will-the-queensland-bikie-laws-affect-innocent-riders-19329">are alarming</a>, but Kuczborski’s success is by no means assured when the case reaches the High Court.</p>
<h2>What’s in the laws?</h2>
<p>The VLAD Act imposes a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years’ imprisonment with no parole on “vicious lawless associates” who commit “declared offences” while participating in the activities of a group (being any legal or illegal group or association of three or more people). </p>
<p>Despite the frightening title, a vicious lawless associate is simply a person who participates in the activities of a group. This definition conceivably captures most of the population.</p>
<p>The VLAD Act places the onus on the accused to show that he or she is not a vicious lawless associate by proving that the purpose of the group is not to undertake a declared offence. The schedule to the VLAD Act contains a lengthy list of declared offences, ranging from child exploitation to drug possession to wounding. </p>
<p>If a person is prosecuted for a declared offence, is a participant in a group and cannot prove that the purpose of that group was not the commission of the declared offence, then the VLAD Act obliges the court to sentence him or her to 15 years’ imprisonment in addition to the usual sentence for the offence. </p>
<p>Persons who are office bearers or authority figures within the group face an additional ten years’ (for a total of 25 years) mandatory imprisonment.</p>
<p>The CODA complements the VLAD Act by creating a new criminal offence of:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>…participants in a criminal organisation being knowingly present in public places.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>In the case of the CODA, the Queensland attorney-general is empowered to declare certain organisations as criminal organisations. To date, attorney-general Jarrod Bleijie has declared 26 such organisations. He <a href="http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/bikie-evidence-to-be-secret-forever-20140115-30vg3.html">has said</a> that his reasons for doing so may never be made public. </p>
<p>The consequences of declarations under the CODA are severe. Any person who “participates” in a declared organisation by in any way asserting or seeking membership of it (for example, by wearing the group’s insignia) faces a mandatory minimum sentence of six months’ imprisonment if they meet in public with two or more other participants. </p>
<p>Again, the onus of proof is reversed. A person may defend the charge by proving that the declared organisation does not have a criminal purpose.</p>
<h2>The constitutional challenge</h2>
<p>Some of the strongest aspects of Kuczborski’s constitutional challenge will be based on the claim that these laws (and other aspects of the Newman government’s legislative <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-end-justifies-the-means-why-queensland-is-losing-the-bikie-war-21948">“war on bikies”</a>) undermine the constitutionally protected independence and impartiality of Queensland courts. </p>
<p>Kuczborski will assert that the laws breach the Constitution by requiring judges to act without discretion, order mandatory and disproportionate sentences, and administer unequal justice. These factors risk judges appearing to act as rubber stamps for the executive. </p>
<p>Kuczborski will also argue that the mandatory sentences, reversals of the onus of proof, and vague and uncertain terms of the legislation undermine fair process and the rule of law.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/44393/original/k7drrgjj-1395313995.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Queensland attorney-general Jarrod Bleijie has declared 26 organisations ‘criminal organisations’ as part of the anti-bikie measures.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">AAP/Dave Hunt</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Complex and unresolved aspects of the Constitution</h2>
<p>These arguments are persuasive in the circumstances. It is not difficult to see how these laws challenge traditional conceptions of justice, fairness and the rule of law. However, these arguments hinge on complex and unresolved aspects of Australian constitutional law. </p>
<p>The Constitution does not contain a fair process clause. Any protections for fair process are implied from the doctrine of the separation of judicial power, which is itself an implied doctrine.</p>
<p>The extent to which a separation of powers applies in the states has been the subject of considerable controversy. Only in recent years has it emerged as a significant limit on the powers of state governments. </p>
<p>The High Court has tended to uphold state laws provided that they do not usurp or control the fundamental discretions or defining characteristics of courts. On this basis, the High Court has upheld <a href="http://www.hcourt.gov.au/assets/publications/judgment-summaries/2008/hca4-2008-02-7.pdf">secret evidence in judicial proceedings</a>, as well as <a href="http://www.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/sinodisp/au/cases/cth/HCATrans/2012/242.html">preventive restraints on liberty</a> and <a href="http://www.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/sinodisp/au/cases/cth/HCA/2013/40.html">mandatory sentencing</a>. </p>
<p>The High Court may find that it is within the powers of the Queensland parliament to create a new offence and attach a mandatory minimum sentence in line with political objectives, as it has with the VLAD Act. As for the CODA, mandatory sentencing may again be upheld. </p>
<p>The argument as to double punishment is more novel. Together, these issues may well push the High Court to draw a clearer line between valid sentencing guidance and impermissible interference with judicial discretion. Currently, it is not clear where that line exists. </p>
<p>One thing is certain: the High Court will not approach these issues from the perspective of “rights”. As fair process is only protected as an implication of the separation of judicial power, arguments will focus on the independence of the court and on the proper relationship between courts and the executive. </p>
<p>The liberty-infringing nature of the orders will be of secondary, even tangential, concern. </p>
<p>Kuczborski’s challenge raises important issues of constitutional protections in the face of hardline government policies. The laws traverse new ground and present serious challenges to fundamental constitutional values. </p>
<p>The challenge, then, provides a timely platform for the High Court to give clarity to how the Constitution protects these values from legislative infringement.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/24619/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rebecca Ananian-Welsh does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Hells Angel Stefan Kuczborski has launched a constitutional challenge to more than a dozen sections of the Newman government’s notorious anti-bikie laws in Queensland. These include the Vicious Lawless…Rebecca Ananian-Welsh, Lecturer, ARC Laureate Fellowship Project 'Anti-Terror Laws and the Democratic Challenge', Faculty of Law, UNSWLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/232832014-02-20T19:22:13Z2014-02-20T19:22:13ZThe battle to win hearts and minds in Queensland's bikie war<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/41910/original/v2zzmr24-1392780663.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=496&amp;fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">In the face of rising opposition to its anti-bikie measures, the Queensland government must find a way to cut through the rhetoric with facts and stop inflaming the debate. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">AAP/Dan Peled</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>One fascinating aspect of the Newman government’s <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-end-justifies-the-means-why-queensland-is-losing-the-bikie-war-21948">“war on bikies”</a> in Queensland has been the battle for the hearts and minds of average citizens. </p>
<p>In an attempt to convince the public of the threat – and the need for the <a href="http://www.qld.gov.au/law/laws-taxes-elections-and-complaints/queensland-laws-and-regulations/new-criminal-bikie-gang-laws/">unparalleled laws</a> introduced to counter it – the government has engaged in a vigorous public relations campaign aimed at showing the menace of the criminal threat.</p>
<p>But as former US vice-president Hubert Humphrey <a href="http://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/common/generic/VP_Hubert_Humphrey.htm">noted</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Propaganda, to be effective, must be believed. To be believed, it must be credible. To be credible, it must be true.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>So, has the campaign worked? Have Queenslanders readily accepted the laws?</p>
<h2>The communication strategy</h2>
<p>In political terms, reacting strongly to perceived criminal challenges is a popular public platform for any government to extend its crime-fighting credentials.</p>
<p>Last October, the Queensland government spent <a href="http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/queensland-spends-big-to-get-antibikie-message-across-20131019-2vtoe.html">nearly A$800,000</a> on initial advertising to tell the public about the laws and what they were intended to achieve. The campaign included advertisements on television, in newspapers and online.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/29dfLal7vwk?wmode=transparent&amp;start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">One of the government’s anti-bikie ads.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Earlier this year, a further A$500,000 tender was put out for a marketing firm to try to stop the rot that had set into the government’s campaign. The tender, <a href="http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/premier-campbell-newman-turns-to-pr-professionals-to-sell-his-outlaw-bikie-blitz/story-fnihsrf2-1226809009906">according to the Courier-Mail</a>, said that the government had:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>…identified issues in relation to community attitudes and views about the measures taken…in response to criminal motorcycle gangs.</p>
</blockquote>
<h2>Implementation of the strategy and key message</h2>
<p>Government figures, including state attorney-general Jarrod Bleijie, <a href="http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/queensland-safer-thanks-to-tougher-laws-jarrod-bleijie-20140211-32g68.html">have said</a> that the criminal gang laws have reduced Gold Coast crime since they were introduced last year. Bleijie claimed recently that:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The facts speak for themselves. Statistically we have seen major armed assaults, armed robberies on the GC [Gold Coast] reduced by some 43%, we’ve seen a reduction on personal assaults of 25%. </p>
<p>These are firm but fair laws and they are working. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>In fact, Queensland Police Service (QPS) mypolice <a href="http://mypolice.qld.gov.au/queensland-crime-statistics/">data</a> from September 2013 to January 2014 shows there has been a 12% increase in relation to overall crime on the Gold Coast. The data also shows that since September 2013, all assaults (there is no specific category for “personal” assaults) have risen by 37% to 169 for the month of January 2014 in the Gold Coast area.</p>
<p>That the crackdown would also <a href="https://theconversation.com/factcheck-will-the-queensland-bikie-laws-affect-innocent-riders-19329">drag non-bikies into the battle</a> was one of the myths Bleijie attempted to <a href="http://jarrodbleijie.com.au/news/crackdown-will-target-only-criminal-gangs">publicly debunk</a> when the measures were first introduced.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>This legislation will target only criminal motorcycle gang members. Other law-abiding motorbike riders have nothing to worry about.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Social media put paid to this claim when Jamie Evans, a law-abiding motorcyclist, posted a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8TMOiMopMCU">video on YouTube</a> in which he was intercepted by police for the 21st time. The video went viral. QPS Commissioner Ian Stewart was <a href="http://jarrodbleijie.com.au/news/crackdown-will-target-only-criminal-gangs">forced to apologise</a> to Evans and all recreational riders.</p>
<p>Stewart admitted these riders were going to be affected by the laws:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Some good people in the community, including recreational motorcyclists, are going to be inconvenienced and I’m sorry if that’s happened to Jamie.</p>
</blockquote>
<h2>Positive media presence</h2>
<p>Perhaps more concerning is the poor decision-making on which cases to publicise. If you asked most people who the most important arrests of the bikie crackdown were, it would be the <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-12-21/two-members-of-yandina-five-bikies-released-on-bail/5171030">“Yandina five”</a> (who met for a drink at a Sunshine Coast pub), the <a href="http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/five-victorian-friends-accused-of-being-bikies-in-queensland-jail/story-fnii5smp-1226796366390">“ice-cream five”</a> at Surfers Paradise, and librarian <a href="http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/librarian-and-accused-bikie-sally-louise-kuether-freed-on-bail/story-fnihsrf2-1226814188558">Sally Kuether</a>.</p>
<p>None of these cases does anything to show the claimed benefit of the laws in fighting serious organised crime. Yet they have still dominated the headlines. </p>
<p>Even if there was a key message to get through, it simply cannot for want of positive media coverage. Police media advisers need to make more shrewd decisions as to which arrests and operations to publicise. As gatekeepers to operational outcomes and information, they have the power to do so.</p>
<p>The failure to get the key message out is even more remarkable when you consider that the bikies themselves have mounted no co-ordinated campaign of opposition. This is <a href="http://www.pria.com.au/resources//taking-queensland-bikers-for-a-spin">unlike in 2009</a>, when the United Motorcycle Council of Queensland (UMCQ) employed a PR company, Cole Lawson, to challenge similar laws and engaged in a charm offensive. </p>
<p>Despite bikies groups <a href="http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/public-relations-company-hired-by-motorcycle-council-threatens-to-sue-government-20140124-31cwv.html">having hired</a> the same PR firm as last time, to date most opposition to the laws appears to be ad hoc and from a wide cross-section of society. Mainstream programs, such as the ABC’s advertising show The Gruen Nation, have also ridiculed the government campaign.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/-dAHQ7sXAPg?wmode=transparent&amp;start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">The Gruen Nation’s take on the Queensland anti-bikie ad campaign.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Who is your target?</h2>
<p>Perhaps the government’s biggest mistake from a PR standpoint has been to widen the war from a small group who were widely perceived as criminals already (bikies) to include the general public. This was achieved by moving to regulate <a href="http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/builders-plumbers-electricians-face-police-background-checks-in-queensland-governments-war-on-bikies/story-fnihsrf2-1226799447941">construction industries</a> over alleged links to bikie gangs.</p>
<p>Not content with upsetting the blue-collar workforce, Queensland premier Campbell Newman <a href="http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/campbell-newman-says-lawyers-for-bikies-are-part-of-criminal-gang-machine/story-fnihsrf2-1226819588317">labelled</a> members of the legal fraternity involved in defending bikies as:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>…part of the machine, part of the criminal gang machine. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>To date, no lawyer has been charged as being a participant of a gang, nor under the anti-bikie laws. The comments provoked a <a href="http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/campbell-newman-blasted-by-supreme-court-justice-peter-applegarth-for-calling-bikie-lawyers-hired-guns/story-fnihsrf2-1226822875483">blistering broadside</a> from Queensland Supreme Court justice Peter Applegarth as he addressed a criminal jury:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>And if, in the future, you’re acting as a juror in a different trial, ignore ill-informed comments about hired guns, comments which smear hard-working professionals who are doing their duty. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>Some newspapers have been scathing of the government’s approach. Courier-Mail columnist Terry Sweetman, for instance, <a href="http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/opinion/opinion-crime-will-keep-rolling-along-despite-lnp-government-putting-brakes-on-ideals-of-justice-and-democracy/story-fnihsr9v-1226808934055">argued that</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>… the Queensland government has backed itself into a corner where it can defend its laws only by denigrating its opponents and belittling the judicial system, which is our protection against arbitrary and discriminatory process.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>However, not all is going the bikies’ way. Some commentators support the government’s line and being <a href="http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/opinion/opinion-police-regularly-ridiculed-in-regional-media-on-stations-like-triple-m-on-the-commercial-networks-and-the-abc/story-fnihsr9v-1226827694312">highly critical</a> of any who criticise the laws:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The gangs seem to have won total support in the blogosphere from the snivelling Left and liberals in the law and media.</p>
</blockquote>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/41917/original/89tbhjqf-1392783248.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Queensland premier Campbell Newman and attorney-general Jarrod Bleijie are among those to make strong public statements in support of the anti-bikie laws.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">AAP/Dan Peled</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The results speak for themselves</h2>
<p>In reality, the most concerning statistic for the government must be the recent <a href="http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/galaxy-poll-bikie-crackdown-could-cost-campbell-newmans-lnp-30-seats-in-queensland-parliament/story-fnihsrf2-1226822990768">Galaxy poll</a>, which showed that only 48% of Queenslanders surveyed supported the bikie laws, 7% were uncommitted and 45% were not in favour. Those supporting the laws dropped from 56% in November last year.</p>
<p>This loss of support is extraordinary given that we are talking about laws designed to target criminal behaviour: the kind of issue that the overwhelming majority of society would normally support. </p>
<p>Of those polled, 50% also think the laws are “too tough”, only 41% say “about right” and 56% thought thought the government had done a “poor job” of marketing the new laws. Finally, a <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-02-14/poll-finds-newman-would-lose-his-brisbane-seat-to-labor/5261444?section=qld">poll</a> conducted in Newman’s seat of Ashgrove showed 44% of voters were less likely to vote for the LNP because of the laws. </p>
<p>Such public sentiment is causing headaches not only for the government, but also for the state opposition. The ALP has <a href="http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/annastacia-palaszczuk-accused-of-secretly-supporting-antibikie-laws/story-fnihsrf2-1226826568408">tied itself in knots</a> trying to adopt a position on the issue. </p>
<p>In the midst of all of this, someone should have read the sage advice provided by Hubert Humphrey. Perhaps then this media campaign would not have gone so badly off track.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/23283/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Terry Goldsworthy does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>One fascinating aspect of the Newman government’s “war on bikies” in Queensland has been the battle for the hearts and minds of average citizens. In an attempt to convince the public of the threat – and…Terry Goldsworthy, Assistant Professor of Criminology, Bond UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/226862014-02-12T03:28:49Z2014-02-12T03:28:49ZKnowing the case against you: secrecy is eroding fair process<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/41128/original/485p78zn-1392004605.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;rect=0%2C136%2C3264%2C2189&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=496&amp;fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Sally Kuether has no right of access to any secret evidence against her but faces a mandatory six months&#39; jail if convicted under Queensland anti-bikie laws.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">AAP/Miranda Forster</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>In a courtroom crowded with supporters, Queensland woman Sally Kuether was <a href="http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/librarian-and-accused-bikie-sally-louise-kuether-freed-on-bail/story-fnihsrf2-1226814188558">released on bail</a> late last month. Kuether, a librarian, had been arrested and held in custody for six days under the state’s notorious <a href="http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/qld/consol_act/vlada2013473/">Vicious Lawless Association Disestablishment Act</a>, or VLAD Act. Her alleged crime? Meeting her partner and a friend – two alleged members of the Life and Death motorcycle club – at the Dayboro hotel on December 19.</p>
<p>As Kuether prepares her case she will grapple with a wall of secrecy. Secret evidence, once unheard of, is now increasingly common in Australian courts. It is a fixture of the anti-bikie laws across the country.</p>
<p>In a string of cases, the High Court has upheld the use of secret evidence. Its decisions have revealed that the constitution does not provide Australians with a right to know the case against them.</p>
<h2>The spread of secrecy</h2>
<p>Life and Death is one of 26 groups declared a criminal organisation by Queensland attorney-general Jarrod Bleijie. It is an offence attracting a mandatory minimum sentence of six months’ imprisonment for members of such organisations to meet in public. </p>
<p>Bleijie has said that the reasons for his decision to declare the 26 organisations may never be made public. Nor are these declarations subject to judicial review.</p>
<p>This kind of secrecy is the latest step in an evolution towards secret decisions and evidence in the states. A similar emphasis on secrecy is found in Queensland’s <a href="https://www.legislation.qld.gov.au/LEGISLTN/ACTS/2009/09AC053.pdf">Criminal Organisation Act</a>, which empowers the Supreme Court to declare organisations and make control orders in respect of their members. In both cases, “criminal intelligence” evidence may be withheld from a party and his or her representatives.</p>
<p>Almost identical provisions for secret criminal intelligence evidence may be found in organised crime control order legislation in <a href="http://www.legislation.sa.gov.au/LZ/C/A/SERIOUS%20AND%20ORGANISED%20CRIME%20%28CONTROL%29%20ACT%202008/2013.08.10/2008.13.UN.PDF">South Australia</a>, <a href="http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/nsw/num_act/coca2009n6418.pdf">NSW</a>, <a href="http://www.slp.wa.gov.au/legislation/statutes.nsf/main_mrtitle_13007_homepage.html">Western Australia</a> and the <a href="http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/nt/num_act/scca200932o2009299/">Northern Territory</a>, though the processes for declaring organisations and issuing control orders differ in each state.</p>
<h2>Undermining fair process</h2>
<p>Secrecy is vital to many policing and intelligence operations. However, once a matter reaches the courts the adversarial system of justice generally requires transparency. This includes the capacity for each party to know and test the case against them. </p>
<p>Traditionally, a successful claim of secrecy results in information being excluded from court proceedings. The bikie laws enacted across much of Australia provide for information to be kept secret and used in court. Unsurprisingly, many of these laws have been subject to constitutional challenge.</p>
<p>A strong tradition of fair process exists in our courts and is protected by the constitution, albeit indirectly. The constitution enshrines a separation of judicial power, which means that legislation will be invalid if it offends the fundamental independence or impartiality of a court. Fair process is central to judicial independence and impartiality, so it receives protection through this principle.</p>
<p>The cases concerning secret evidence began in 2008 with <a href="http://www.hcourt.gov.au/assets/publications/judgment-summaries/2008/hca4-2008-02-7.pdf">Gypsy Jokers Motorcycle Club Inc v Commissioner of Police</a>. The High Court accepted that fair process was challenged by provisions allowing the Police Commissioner to classify and rely on secret evidence. However, the court upheld the act on the basis that the Supreme Court of WA could review the secret classification and thus preserve its constitutionally protected independence.</p>
<p>This ruling was crucial to the later cases of <a href="http://www.hcourt.gov.au/assets/publications/judgment-summaries/2010/hca39-2010-11-11.pdf">South Australia v Totani</a>, <a href="http://www.hcourt.gov.au/assets/publications/judgment-summaries/2011/hca24-2011-06-23.pdf">Wainohu v New South Wales</a> and <a href="http://www.hcourt.gov.au/assets/publications/judgment-summaries/2013/hca7-2013-03-14.pdf">Assistant Commissioner Condon v Pompano Pty Ltd</a>. These cases concerned declaration and control order schemes in South Australia, NSW and Queensland. Only the Queensland scheme survived constitutional challenge, and that paved the way for the expansion of Queensland’s bikie laws through the VLAD Act.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/41129/original/7zb3nw7y-1392005201.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Queensland attorney-general Jarrod Bleijie has said his reasons for declaring 26 groups to be criminal organisations may never be made public. The declarations are not subject to judicial review.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">AAP/Dave Hunt</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The conditions allowing secrecy</h2>
<p>Despite the different outcomes, the High Court repeatedly affirmed that the secret evidence provisions of all three Acts were constitutionally valid.</p>
<p>Together, the cases set up three necessary conditions for secret evidence to be acceptable in court proceedings. Secret evidence is permitted if the court: has the capacity to reassess the classification of the information; is not being forced to take particular steps with respect to the evidence; and retains sufficient discretion to potentially counteract any unfairness (for example, by attributing less weight to the evidence or ordering a stay of proceedings).</p>
<p>The High Court’s approach may preserve the judge’s decision-making independence; the government cannot force the judge’s hand. It fails, though, to address the clearest problems arising from secret evidence. These are fairness to the parties and damage to public confidence in the impartial administration of justice if significant parts of a government’s case may remain secret and untested.</p>
<p>Despite the numerous challenges to secret evidence provisions, the court has not once suggested that a fair hearing requires a minimum standard for disclosure. In short, the High Court has been prepared to say that fairness and judicial independence are maintained, even where openness is not.</p>
<p>It seems Kuether and others subject to secret evidence schemes around Australia cannot claim any constitutional entitlement to know the case against them. Responsibility for maintaining a fair court process rests entirely with the judge. </p>
<p>Arguably, however, judges considering untested police evidence in a system built on openness and adversarialism are performing their duties with one hand tied behind their backs. This is one of many reasons why some members of Queensland’s judiciary have shown resistance to the latest bikie laws.</p>
<p>These events highlight the lack of an explicit protection for fair process in the text of our constitution. Governments have a clear interest in being able to rely on undisclosed evidence.</p>
<p>The High Court has shown its capacity to protect fair trial rights through the lens of the separation of judicial power. It seems that the only way to check the increasing use of secret evidence in our courts may be the path of last resort. The time may have come for Australians to consider the option of constitutional change to strengthen fair process protections.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/22686/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rebecca Ananian-Welsh does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>In a courtroom crowded with supporters, Queensland woman Sally Kuether was released on bail late last month. Kuether, a librarian, had been arrested and held in custody for six days under the state’s notorious…Rebecca Ananian-Welsh, Lecturer, ARC Laureate Fellowship Project 'Anti-Terror Laws and the Democratic Challenge', Faculty of Law, UNSWLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/219482014-01-19T19:35:28Z2014-01-19T19:35:28ZThe end justifies the means: why Queensland is losing the bikie war<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/39266/original/qrdsjtbb-1389925712.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=496&amp;fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A change in investigative and policing strategy is needed if the Queensland government is to win the so-called &#39;bikie wars&#39;.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">AAP/Paul Miller</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Three months into the <a href="http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/new-laws-in-bikie-war-pass-queensland-parliament/story-fnihsrf2-1226740591889">campaign</a> by the Queensland government against outlaw motorcycle gangs, some meaningful analysis of the effectiveness and justification for the unprecedented measures is possible.</p>
<p>On the statistics and anecdotes that have emerged, it appears likely there will be no smoking gun to indicate success at the end of this campaign. There will be no major evidence that bikie gangs are the epicentre of organised crime in Australia. Yes, they play a part, but not an overwhelming one.</p>
<h2>Arrest figures</h2>
<p>Last December, figures were released to show the effectiveness of the policing response, codenamed Operation Resolute. <a href="http://mypolice.qld.gov.au/blog/2013/12/05/update-operation-resolute">Impressive numbers</a> of arrests and charges were given to the media:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Officers as part of Operation Resolute, created in response to offending behaviour of Criminal Motorcycle Gangs (CMGs), have arrested 384 people on 817 charges since October 6.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>But of the 817 charges, only 28 – or 3.4% – <a href="http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/crime-squad-nets-more-street-offenders-than-serious-criminals-in-the-war-against-bikies/story-fnihsrf2-1226791263166">can be considered</a> “organised crime” type charges such as drug trafficking and extortion.</p>
<p>Even more interesting is the proportion of overall crime statistics these figures account for in that two-month period. In Queensland, 73,309 offences were reported in October and November 2013. Bikies accounted for only 1% of these offences.</p>
<p>Given the over-policing of bikies, one could also reasonably expect that these figures would be inflated to some degree. The figures rest on all the offenders being conveniently termed “participants of a criminal organisation”. The police will not supply figures for the actual arrests of members – nor the grey and fuzzy “associate arrests” – instead grouping them into a homogeneous category. </p>
<p>If we were to consider just members, I suspect the arrest and charge figures would be drastically reduced. </p>
<h2>Illicit drugs</h2>
<p>The offences laid against bikies account for just 0.8% of total drug supply offences in Queensland. For trafficking in dangerous drugs they account for 5% of offences. For production of dangerous drugs they accounted for only 1.3% of total offences.</p>
<p>Production by Queensland drug laboratories has been exploding for the last five years, yet we never heard that the bikies were the criminal masterminds behind it. Australian Crime Commission (ACC) <a href="http://www.crimecommission.gov.au/publications/illicit-drug-data-report/illicit-drug-data-report-2011-12">data</a> indicates that from 2010-11 to 2011-12, Queensland drug laboratory production increased 29%, and Queensland labs accounted for 81% of the national increase in this same period. </p>
<p>Police have indicated that some 193 amphetamine labs <a href="http://www.afr.com/p/lifestyle/review/queensland_ugly_underbelly_f5cN49fSMZNv11VIUU2ZNN">had been located</a> in the last six months in Queensland. Unfortunately, the media were not told how many of these busts resulted in the arrest of any bikies.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/39268/original/gf5hxfqk-1389926115.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">How much of Australia’s illegal economy are bikies actually responsible for?</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">AAP</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Charge stats</h2>
<p>Included in the December update on Operation Resolute was a short note that six offenders had been charged under the <a href="http://www.qld.gov.au/law/laws-taxes-elections-and-complaints/queensland-laws-and-regulations/new-criminal-bikie-gang-laws/">anti-bikie laws</a>. These laws provide for mandatory 25-year prison sentences for bikie gang members for a wide range of charges.</p>
<p>Of the 384 arrested, only 1.5% of offenders were charged under the anti-bikie laws. This is despite the authorities saying that all 384 people arrested were participants in criminal gangs. </p>
<p>The explanation is simple. First, the vast majority of offences involved were of such a minor nature that they are not covered by the anti-bikie laws. Second, the people arrested were acting as individuals: they did not commit their offences as part of some criminal conspiracy for the benefit of the organisation.</p>
<p>It is easy to claim someone is a participant in arrest figures and media releases. It is not so easy to do this when subject to the scrutiny of the criminal courts, where actual evidence is required to be proven to requisite standards. In a number of <a href="http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/accused-bikie-benjamin-roberts-nabbed-in-50000-drug-bust-and-freed-on-bail-after-police-fail-to-offer-evidence-of-gang-membership/story-fnihsrf2-1226751901601">instances</a>, claims of bikie gang membership evaporated when the courts required proof.</p>
<h2>Involvement in organised crime</h2>
<p><a href="http://www.news.com.au/national/financial-crackdown-on-australias-10-billion-bikie-gang-economy/story-fncynjr2-1226766318129">Claims</a> have also been made that bikies are responsible for over two-thirds of organised crime profits in Australia (around A$10 billion). We have not seen any credible evidence or methodology to support this. </p>
<p>Of concern is that such claims are <a href="http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/lnp-governments-tough-antibikie-laws-designed-to-rub-out-queenslands-uneasy-riders/story-fnihsrf2-1226794614617">being attributed</a> to organisations such as the Australian Crime Commission. A search of the ACC website, however, finds no such data. In fact, its bikie profile series <a href="http://www.crimecommission.gov.au/publications/crime-profile-series/outlaw-motorcycle-gangs">specifically states</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>…it is difficult to gauge the percentage of organised crime attributed specifically to OMCG members. While they are prevalent in all states and territories, they are just one part of the organised crime picture in Australia.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>In the first two months of Operation Resolute police have recovered only around $200,000 worth of drugs. Divide that figure by all of the “participants” arrested and they would have earned an average of $260 per month – hardly what high rollers are made of.</p>
<h2>Impact on freedom of association</h2>
<p>The legislation included the introduction of consorting or association laws, which prevented two or more bikie gang members from gathering in public. </p>
<p>The two most prominent cases where this law has been enforced are the arrests of five men having a <a href="http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/wheres-daddy-yandina-five-wifes-anguish-20140107-30fhu.html">quiet beer in a suburban pub</a> and another five offenders <a href="http://www.goldcoastbulletin.com.au/news/gold-coast/gold-coast-holiday-ends-in-jail-for-alleged-tourist-bikies/story-fnj94idh-1226795709978">buying icecreams</a> during a family holiday on the Gold Coast. </p>
<p>This is hardly the backroom, nefarious criminal consorting that the laws were put in place to prevent. It simply is not in the spirit of the legislation, and has been a public relations disaster for the government.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/39267/original/44q94ng8-1389925941.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Police resources in Queensland are scarce, so why is so much of it being spent to curb a small amount of crime?</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">AAP/Dan Peled</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The strategic direction of the campaign has begun to go badly off the rails. With <a href="http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/builders-plumbers-electricians-face-police-background-checks-in-queensland-governments-war-on-bikies/story-fnihsrf2-1226799447941">tradesmen now in the sights of law enforcement</a> over links with bikie gangs, the government has moved the war from fringe occupations – such as tattoo parlours – to mainstream society. This move has <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-01-10/tradies-could-lose-licences-under-queensland-anti-bikie-laws/5195116">raised the ire</a> of trade unions, and they do have the money to fund a legal challenge. </p>
<p>The government has taken the “war on bikies” too far and alerted a complacent wider community to the impact on basic civil liberties. The “us and them” (the bikies) dichotomy has changed to a more encompassing view of who can be affected by the laws. </p>
<p>The other obvious issue is that if you remove all lawful occupations for bikies there is little alternative but for them to undertake a life of crime. Rehabilitation does not feature in the current war. The public perception of the war has not been helped by police <a href="http://www.qt.com.au/news/police-arrest-and-charge-53-during-taskforce-maxim/2116511/">telling people</a> who they can and cannot be friends with:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>It cannot be socially acceptable to be a friend of a bikie, you have to learn that it is not on.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The purpose of the legislation is to target criminal activity, not police social interactions.</p>
<h2>Resourcing problems</h2>
<p>All of these arrests have involved substantial planning and policing resources. The public therefore have the right to ask if the police would be better employed actually targeting criminal enterprise rather than people enjoying beers and icecream.</p>
<p>Police have finite resources, and as discussed earlier, there are plenty of criminals to be caught other than the bikies. Only three months into the fight, police have <a href="http://www.goldcoastbulletin.com.au/news/crime-court/stay-out-if-youre-drunk-gold-coast-police-warn-of-major-surfers-paradise-crackdown/story-fnje8bkv-1226794422924">diverted dedicated anti-bikie resources</a> to deal with other public order issues. </p>
<p>On top of this, the <a href="http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/brisbane-cbd-residents-near-exclusion-zone-face-lockdown-for-novembers-g20-summit/story-fnihsrf2-1226801912394">G20 meeting in Brisbane</a> is looming. That will certainly curtail the current resource diversion to the purported bikie menace.</p>
<p>Bikies undoubtedly commit crime. Unfortunately, in this current climate, if you attempt to explain why the current approach is wrong you are simply labelled a bikie supporter. For most commentators nothing is further from the truth. </p>
<p>The crime committed by bikie gangs would be better combated by using crime management techniques that target actual crime rather than the current set of association laws, which merely target the person and to a large extent miss the criminal activity. The results are not positive. A change in investigative and policing strategy is needed.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/21948/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Terry Goldsworthy does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Three months into the campaign by the Queensland government against outlaw motorcycle gangs, some meaningful analysis of the effectiveness and justification for the unprecedented measures is possible…Terry Goldsworthy, Assistant Professor, Bond UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/217402014-01-07T19:15:43Z2014-01-07T19:15:43ZBikie laws fall foul of law of unintended consequences<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/38493/original/z2q9bkzq-1388973381.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=496&amp;fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Recent protests against Queensland&#39;s anti-bikie laws will find no comfort in previous court rulings that uphold legislators&#39; power to infringe freedom of association. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">AAP/Kym Agius</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>This week in Brisbane, police <a href="http://www.theage.com.au/queensland/five-victorian-men-charged-under-queensland-bikie-laws-20140105-30bh7.html">charged five Victorian men</a> under Queensland anti-bikie legislation, which makes it an offence for gang members to congregate in groups.</p>
<p>But do we actually enjoy freedom of association in Australia? We don’t have anything in writing that says that we do, but in 1997 three judges of the High Court commented that freedom of association was a right that was capable of being <a href="http://www.asser.nl/upload/documents/DomCLIC/Docs/NLP/Australia/Kruger_High_Court_31-07-1997.pdf">implied from the Constitution</a>.</p>
<p>Seven years later, two other judges of the High Court concluded that freedom of association might be linked to freedom of communication, but it was <a href="http://www.hcourt.gov.au/assets/publications/judgment-summaries/2004/hca41-2004-09-8.pdf">not necessarily a “free-standing” right</a>. In his judgment, High Court Justice Michael Kirby tied the right principally to freedom of political association. </p>
<p>What has this got to do with outlaw motorcycle gangs? It has a lot to do with them. Parliaments around Australia have seriously constrained freedom of association as part of a general crackdown on bikies and their nefarious practices.</p>
<h2>A legislative lottery</h2>
<p>The legislation on this point is not uniform, however. For example, under the <a href="http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/nsw/num_act/coca2009n6418.pdf">Crimes (Criminal Organisations Control) Act 2009</a> in NSW, a person who is subject to a “control order” commits an offence if he or she associates on three or more occasions within a three-month period with another controlled member of a “declared organisation”. There is a virtually identical section in the <a href="http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/nsw/consol_act/coca2012391/">Criminal Organisations Control Act 2012</a> in Western Australia.</p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.legislation.sa.gov.au/LZ/C/A/SERIOUS%20AND%20ORGANISED%20CRIME%20(CONTROL)%20ACT%202008/2013.08.10/2008.13.UN.PDF">Serious and Organised Crime (Control) Act 2008</a> in South Australia has a similar “number of occasions plus time-frame” approach, but it goes a little further. The act makes it an offence for any person to associate with a member of a “declared” organisation on more than six occasions over a 12-month period so long as he or she knew that person was such a member.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.legislation.qld.gov.au/LEGISLTN/ACTS/2009/09AC053.pdf">Criminal Organisation Act 2009</a> in Queensland is less specific. It says that a condition of a control order may be one that prohibits the person subject to the order from associating with any person who is a member of a “criminal organisation”. Victoria’s <a href="http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/nsw/consol_act/coca2012391/">Criminal Organisations Control Act 2012</a> reads similarly.</p>
<p>Finally, the <a href="http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/nt/consol_act/scca253/">Serious Crime Control Act</a> in Northern Territory simply says that</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“a controlled person must not associate with another controlled person”. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>There is a problem, of course, in trying to separate meetings for legitimate reasons from illegitimate ones. For that reason, in some acts there are exceptions, but the wording is inconsistent and the exemptions are plentiful.</p>
<p>For example, the South Australian act makes associations between close family members exempt. So are associations occurring in the course of a lawful business, at a training course, at a counselling session, or when the subjects are in custody. One could speculate that these exemptions make the legislation
unworkable, for many illicit associations could be carried on under the guise of any of these liaisons.</p>
<h2>So much for freedom of association</h2>
<p>There have been a number of <a href="http://www.lawsociety.com.au/resources/journal/archives/ArchiveIssue/index.htm?issueVolume=51&amp;issueYear=2013&amp;issueMonth=September">legal challenges</a> against the bikie laws generally, with some success. But the provisions prohibiting persons from meeting with their associates have remained untouched by judges.</p>
<p>A challenge to the anti-association section of the NSW law was made in 2011 but was <a href="https://www.altlj.org/news-and-views/downunderallover/duao-vol-363/191-high-court-rules-nsw-bikie-legislation-invalid">dismissed by the High Court</a>. It said that if there was a clear legislative intention to override the freedom to associate, then the legislature’s mandate would prevail. </p>
<p>The law is thus now clear: parliaments can, without fear of constitutional challenge, outlaw liaisons between whomever they like, even in the absence of evidence that their targets are meeting specifically for illegal or improper purposes. </p>
<h2>Relying on a false assumption</h2>
<p>If this issue is no longer laced with legal uncertainty, it is most certainly laced with criminological uncertainty. This is because the laws rely upon an assumption that stopping people from meeting with each other will render unlikely their pursuit of criminal activities.</p>
<p>Is that so? Will these sections actually work to reduce the nefarious deeds of “controlled” criminal organisations? I can find no evidence in the academic literature to indicate that would happen. Nor can reseachers <a href="http://www.ceps.edu.au/CMS/Uploads/file/Mann_Ayling%20issue%2019WEB.pdf">Monique Mann and Julie Ayling</a> and <a href="http://www.researchgate.net/publication/226462964_Pre-emptive_Strike_How_Australia_is_Tackling_Outlaw_Motorcycle_Gangs">Ayling</a> again.</p>
<p>Indeed, <a href="http://www.researchgate.net/publication/225484200_Hells_Angels_in_springtime">Canadian research</a> suggests that the criminal activities of members tend to occur independently from the formal structure of the motorcycle organisations.</p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/38494/original/sp7rjyw5-1388973964.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=237&amp;fit=clip">
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<span class="caption">Reducing the visibility of gang membership does not necessarily reduce criminal activity.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">AAP/NSW Police</span></span>
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</figure>
<p>Targeting associates, too, is likely to usher in a lean period for intelligence-gathering. Former Victorian police commissioner Christine Nixon was <a href="http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/south-australia/atkinson-underbelly-state-shouldnt-preach/story-e6frea83-1111116737368">reported</a> to have told a federal parliamentary enquiry that the new laws will:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“…merely drive the visible appearance of organised motorcycle gangs underground, where the criminal activity will continue to function”.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>It would be far better for crime control if all Australian governments simply followed the broad national response to illegal gang activities being developed by the Australian Crime Commission. It regularly releases its <a href="http://www.crimecommission.gov.au/publications/crime-profile-series-fact-sheet/outlaw-motorcycle-gangs">Organised Crime Threat Assessments</a>. The aim of these assessments is to direct law enforcement agencies to target the key players and their lifestyles.</p>
<p>In short, arresting people who gather together without evidence of any other criminal purpose would seem to be pointless, if not counterproductive. While the recent arrests may serve some short-term political purpose, they are unlikely to make any serious inroads into organised crime. </p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/21740/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rick Sarre does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>This week in Brisbane, police charged five Victorian men under Queensland anti-bikie legislation, which makes it an offence for gang members to congregate in groups. But do we actually enjoy freedom of…Rick Sarre, Professor in Law, University of South AustraliaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/199932013-11-17T20:25:18Z2013-11-17T20:25:18ZThe High Court – coming to a Centre Stage near you<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/35358/original/rjcgpn9v-1384484750.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=496&amp;fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">It&#39;s set to be a big few months for the High Court of Australia. What are the key cases to watch?</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">petelawley</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>In coming months, the High Court – the highest court in Australia and the final arbiter on the meaning of the Constitution – will decide several high-profile cases.</p>
<p>These decisions, which may result in the striking down of legislation passed by parliaments across Australia, will reverberate both politically and socially throughout the country. Here are the cases worth keeping an eye on.</p>
<h2>Same-sex marriage in the ACT</h2>
<p>First up will be a hearing in early December about the constitutionality of the new <a href="http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/act/consol_act/mesa2013266/">same-sex marriage law</a> in the ACT. While this issue evokes strong emotions – and concerns key human rights issues such as equality and dignity – the case will be decided on more prosaic grounds. </p>
<p>The federal government, which is opposing the law, is <a href="http://www.canberratimes.com.au/act-news/samesex-marriage-laws-grounds-for-high-court-challenge-revealed-20131113-2xgcv.html">arguing</a> that the ACT law is inconsistent with federal law and therefore breaches Section 28 of the <a href="http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/cth/consol_act/acta1988482/s28.html">Australia Capital Territory (Self-Government) Act 1988 (Cth)</a>.</p>
<p>Under <a href="http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/cth/consol_act/coaca430/s109.html">Section 109</a> of the Constitution, federal law prevails over state law in cases of inconsistency. Perhaps it may be assumed that the same <a href="http://castancentre.com/2012/08/11/same-sex-marriage-could-become-a-constitutional-battleground/">principles</a> as have been developed over decades regarding Section 109 will apply in this case. However, one argument will concern the extent to which Section 28 mirrors Section 109.</p>
<p>If the ACT law is found to be so inconsistent, it will be invalid. If any marriages have been performed under it, they will be void. Depending on how the decision is made, whether in favour of or against the ACT law, the case could signal the death knell for further proposed state laws on marriage equality, or it could open the way for a proliferation of such laws.</p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/35361/original/p8rhvvzp-1384485196.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip">
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<span class="caption">The ACT became the first Australian jurisdiction to legalise same-sex marriage, but will it stand up in the High Court?</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">shutterstock</span></span>
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</figure>
<p>The resolution of constitutional inconsistency cases is notoriously unpredictable. My best guess is that the ACT law will be found to be inconsistent with the federal law, and therefore invalid.</p>
<h2>Queensland bikie laws</h2>
<p>Queensland’s <a href="http://castancentre.com/2013/11/06/the-unravelling-of-civil-liberties-in-queensland/">draconian new bikie laws</a> have, rightly, attracted a lot of attention for their impact on civil liberties in that state. These laws will be <a href="http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/queenslands-bikie-laws-face-challenge-in-high-court/story-fnihsrf2-1226756494969">challenged</a>. </p>
<p>The states have a mixed record on shepherding their bikie laws through the High Court. South Australia failed in 2010 in the <a href="http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/cases/cth/HCA/2010/39.html">Totani</a> case and NSW failed in 2011 in the <a href="http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/cases/cth/HCA/2011/24.html">Wainohu</a> case. An earlier iteration of Queensland’s laws passed muster in 2013 in the <a href="http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/cases/cth/HCA/2013/7.html">Pompano</a> case.</p>
<p>Some of the criticism of Queensland’s laws concern the doctrine of “separation of powers”, which denotes that the three branches of government (the parliament, the executive and the judiciary) should be quarantined from each other to avoid dangerous concentrations of power. </p>
<p>However, in Australia – and indeed in all countries with “Westminster” systems of government – the separation between the parliament and the executive is incomplete. After all, key members of the latter (like the prime minister or premier) are simultaneously members of the former. In contrast, in the US the legislature (Congress) is institutionally separate from the executive, led by the president.</p>
<p>The strongest component of separation of powers in Australia is that the judiciary – the courts – is institutionally separate from the political arms of government. Judicial power must be exclusively exercised by the judiciary. This principle has a beneficial effect for civil liberties, as it ensures (for example) that people are convicted and sentenced by courts, which are characterised by independence and impartiality, rather than politicians or bureaucrats.</p>
<p>Further, non-judicial powers must not be exercised by the judiciary: they are the constitutional preserve of the other arms of government.</p>
<p>The “separation of judicial power” principle is very strong, constitutionally, at the federal level in Australia. Since the <a href="http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/cases/cth/HCA/1996/24.html">Kable</a> decision in 1996, a weaker constitutional doctrine of separation of powers at the state level has existed. </p>
<p>In recent times, due in large part to bikie cases, the principle regarding the states has grown stronger. Queensland premier Campbell Newman was utterly wrong to dismiss the notion of the separation of powers as <a href="http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/campbell-newman-tells-lawyers-to-leave-ivory-towers-20131024-2w318.html">“more of an American thing”</a>.</p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/35362/original/33fh6grn-1384485657.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Do the draconian anti-bikie laws in Queensland impinge on civil liberties?</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">AAP/Travis Anderson</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The new Queensland laws will likely be challenged on the basis that they have improperly allocated powers as between the executive and the judiciary. However, I suspect the Queensland bikie laws will survive the High Court challenge. While the doctrine of separation of powers has occasionally been deployed to undo restrictions on civil liberties, it is not a substitute for broad ranging civil liberties protections. </p>
<p>So far, the state cases have focused on the powers exercised by courts rather than general draconian powers. A finding of unconstitutionality would involve a significant extension of the current separation of powers doctrine at the state level. However, an extension is not impossible. The doctrine was extended in the Wainohu case in 2011 to strike down NSW bikie laws.</p>
<p>Arguments may also be made that the Queensland bikie laws (and probably other state bikie laws) breach implied constitutional rights to freedom of association. After all, a key effect of the laws is to stop bikies from associating with each other. Similar challenges in previous bikie cases have been unsuccessful.</p>
<h2>Political donations in NSW</h2>
<p>Another High Court <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-11-05/unions-begin-high-court-challenge-to-nsw-electoral-donation-laws/5070612">challenge</a> will concern a <a href="http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/nsw/num_act/efeadaa2012n1550.pdf">NSW law</a> from 2012 that prohibits political donations by those who are not on the electoral roll.</p>
<p>Under the law, only individuals can donate to political parties, while corporations, trade unions and other non-humans may not. The challenge will be based on the notion that the laws breach the implied freedom of political communication in the Constitution.</p>
<p>This case will be fascinating, and, unlike the cases above, I am incapable of making a prediction as to the outcome. The issues that will be raised reflect some of those in the notorious 2010 US case of <a href="http://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/09pdf/08-205.pdf">Citizens United v Federal Election Commission</a>. In that case, the US Supreme Court split 5:4 to hold that corporations and trade unions have rights of free speech - just like individuals - under the US Constitution.</p>
<p>The Citizens United case cleared the way for unlimited political spending and electioneering by such entities. The consequence was clear in the 2012 US elections, with advertising by wealthy political action committees (<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_hD6z9Cj3s">“Super-PACs”</a>) dwarfing that of the official political parties. </p>
<p>However, the constitutional question in Citizens United was different to that which will arise in the upcoming High Court case. The NSW legislation targets donations to political parties rather than direct political advertising. Indeed, restrictions on political advertising were struck down in Australia as long ago as 1992, in the <a href="http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/cases/cth/HCA/1992/45.html">very first case</a> to uncover the implied right of political communication.</p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/35367/original/vbrghdsp-1384488498.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The role of money in politics has been an issue worldwide, and been taken to the Supreme Court in the United States.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Public Citizen</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>We do not yet know if “political speech” in Australian constitutional law extends to donations. If it does, the further question of whether the limits on such “speech” are proportionate and reasonable arises.</p>
<p>A key argument in favour of the law is that it helps to remove the influence of money from politics, reducing the scope for corruption. Political parties might divorce their interests from those of rich patrons, so that they pay more attention to the interests of the less powerful. The law arguably protects shareholders and individual union members, who may not wish that their contributions be spent on support for a particular party.</p>
<p>Arguments against include the libertarian view that it is not for the state to restrict the freedom of entities to donate money to the political parties of their choosing.</p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.theage.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/unions-challenge-rules-on-donations-20131102-2wtf8.html">unequal impact</a> of the law is also of concern. The law has a much bigger impact on the NSW Labor Party than on the conservative parties, given the ALP party’s historical dependence on union donations. </p>
<p>Reportedly, ALP donors will shrink by 98% compared to 75% for the Liberal Party. The disproportionate effect on the ALP is underscored by the fact that Unions NSW is the entity bringing the case, and by the support of the NSW law by all conservative Australian governments.</p>
<p>University of Melbourne legal academic Joo Cheong Tham <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/nov/07/nsw-election-funding-laws-are-a-serious-attack-on-freedom-of-association">has raised</a> an alternative argument against the law, stating that it attacks the structure of the ALP. After all, many trade unions are actual members (“affiliates”) of the Labor Party, reflecting its long-standing collectivist traditions (whereas the Liberal Party traditionally focuses on individual freedoms). </p>
<p>A ban on donations by a member of a political party strikes at freedom of association, meaning in effect that the ALP can no longer collect fees from affiliated unions. </p>
<p>It may be that there is an implied freedom of political association within the Constitution as a corollary to the implied right of political expression. This case may be the one which finally decides upon that issue.</p>
<h2>Plus ça change?</h2>
<p>The High Court will be unusually prominent in Australian political and social life over the next few months. </p>
<p>Politicians can throw <a href="http://www.sunshinecoastdaily.com.au/news/newman-blasts-lawyers-failing-legal-system/2062038/">gratuitous insults</a> about “out of touch” judges “in ivory towers”. However, they have little choice but to abide by adverse High Court constitutional decisions. The only alternative is to seek constitutional change at a referendum. Yet Australia has formally changed its Constitution eight times in 113 years – the strike rate is very low.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/19993/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sarah Joseph does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>In coming months, the High Court – the highest court in Australia and the final arbiter on the meaning of the Constitution – will decide several high-profile cases. These decisions, which may result in…Sarah Joseph, Director, Castan Centre for Human Rights Law, Monash UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/193292013-10-22T19:43:35Z2013-10-22T19:43:35ZFactCheck: will the Queensland bikie laws affect innocent riders?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/33237/original/284tfdg9-1382068126.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=496&amp;fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The new laws against bikie gangs in Queensland are meant to be &#39;tough&#39; but will innocent riders be affected?</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">AAP image</span></span></figcaption></figure><blockquote>
<p><strong>“This legislation will target only criminal motorcycle gang members. Other law abiding motorbike riders have nothing to worry about,” Queensland Attorney-General Jarrod Bleijie, <a href="http://www.jarrodbleijie.com.au/news/crackdown-will-target-only-criminal-gangs">press release</a>, October 8.</strong></p>
</blockquote>
<p>As part of a statewide crackdown, the Queensland government last week <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-10-16/qlds-tough-anti-bikie-laws-passed-after-marathon-parliament-/5025242">passed new laws</a> targeting outlaw bikie gangs.</p>
<p>Queensland is now <a href="http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/victoria-seeks-to-follow-queensland-on-bikie-laws-20131022-2vxlo.html">one of a few states</a> attempting to target and prevent crimes associated with motorcycle gangs. But there are concerns, particularly from civil liberties groups who see the law as impinging on personal freedoms.</p>
<p>Repeating the claim above by Jarrod Bleijie, state premier Campbell Newman said in a statement last week that “law-abiding motorcyclists have nothing to fear”.</p>
<p>But the Australian Council for Civil Liberties <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/breakfast/newman-ups-the-ante-against-bikie-gangs/5022820">says otherwise</a>, claiming that inevitably innocent riders will be affected.</p>
<p>So who’s right? And what do the new laws really do?</p>
<h2>The new laws</h2>
<p>The new Queensland <a href="https://www.legislation.qld.gov.au/Bills/54PDF/2013/VicLawAssDisB13.pdf">legislation</a> targets “participants” or “vicious lawless associates” of named associations. To date, the associations are 26 outlaw motorcycle gangs, which include gangs like the Bandidos, Finks and Mongols. </p>
<p>The “participants” are defined as anyone who declares or advertises their membership of an association, including those who wear gangs patches. But it would also include those who are “non-patched” members of the gangs and others who associate with the club. At this time, it is not clear who this might include. </p>
<p>“Vicious lawless associates” are those who commit one of the serious offences named in the bill. </p>
<p>Under these definitions, there are a couple of ways in which non-gang riders and others may be affected by the legislation.</p>
<p>They could either be targeted by police on the suspicion that they belong to or are associated with a named outlaw motorcycle gang. Or they could be an innocent person who meets the definition of “associating” with an outlaw motorcycle gangs.</p>
<h2>Suspicious minds</h2>
<p>Under these new laws the police are able to stop and search people on suspicion of being a member or associate of one of the named outlaw motorcycle gangs. But the main way to identify a gang member is by the credentials on their back – their “patch”. </p>
<p>It’s hard to see what suspicion the police can have that a group of riders belongs to an outlaw motorcycle gang other than their patch. But it is largely left open to police interpretation and has the potential for confusion. </p>
<p>This has already been demonstrated by <a href="http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/police-warned-to-enforce-campbell-newmans-new-bikie-laws-or-face-being-fired/story-fnihsrf2-1226743468432">recent reports</a> that two police officers confused a man’s Sons of Anarchy t-shirt, which featured a fictitious bikie gang symbol from the popular HBO series, with that of an outlaw motorcycle gang patch. </p>
<p>And we already have anecdotal evidence of non-outlaw motorcycle gangs groups <a href="http://www.news.com.au/national/innocent-riders-caught-up-in-queenlands-bikie-gang-crackdown/story-fncynjr2-1226743880451">attracting police attention and harassment</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/33236/original/dq5qd3wm-1382067855.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/33236/original/dq5qd3wm-1382067855.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Jacques Teamo, a member of the Bandidos bike gang, one of many bike gangs targeted by the new Queensland laws.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AAP Image</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Regarding the second point, the definition of an “associate” is very broad and includes taking part “on any one or more occasions in the affairs of the association in any way”. </p>
<p>We do not know how the courts will interpret this definition, but the potential for affecting innocent people is certainly there. For example, the courts could well see a person who conducts a legitimate business, like installing air conditioners into a clubhouse or even hiring out a van to be used by a club, as an “associate”. This sees the potential for law-abiding people to get caught up in legal proceedings. </p>
<p>So while law-abiding people are not the target of the laws, they definitely have the potential to be collateral damage.</p>
<h2>Verdict</h2>
<p>The legislation specifically targets people who are associated with named outlaw motorcycle gangs. But its definition of this association is loose and allows opportunities for innocent people to be caught by the legislation. </p>
<p>In the end, the statement that law abiding motorbike riders have “nothing to worry about” cannot be claimed with any certainty.</p>
<hr>
<h2>Review</h2>
<p>I agree with the author that the assertion that law-abiding motorbike riders have “nothing to worry about” is not entirely accurate. Without narrower definitions and measures in place to protect against overzealous policing, there is a real risk that the laws will be used expansively, as occurred with the <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/pm/content/2013/s3719242.htm">NSW consorting laws</a> passed last year. </p>
<p>The first person convicted under those laws was a <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-07-12/disabled-mans-jailing-angers-consorting-law-critics/4127194">mentally impaired young man</a> who had no connection with bikie groups. He was sentenced to nine months in prison, although this was <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/states-first-consorting-verdict-is-overturned-20120814-246pq.html">subsequently overturned</a>. </p>
<p>There is a real concern about the potential impact of this kind of legislation on the general public. <strong>- Lorana Bartels.</strong></p>
<p><div class="callout"> Ever seen a “fact” that doesn’t look quite right? The Conversation’s FactCheck unit asks academic experts to test claims and see how true they really are. We then ask a second academic to review an anonymous copy of the article. You can request a check at checkit@theconversation.edu.au. Please include the statement you would like us to check, the date it was made, and a link if possible.</div></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/19329/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>“This legislation will target only criminal motorcycle gang members. Other law abiding motorbike riders have nothing to worry about,” Queensland Attorney-General Jarrod Bleijie, press release, October…Mark Lauchs, Senior Lecturer Faculty of Law, School of Justice & Transformational Learning and Teaching Fellow/Senior Lecturer Chancellery, Learning and Teaching Unit, Queensland University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/193592013-10-21T01:13:41Z2013-10-21T01:13:41ZBikies crackdown: did the Constitution fail Queensland?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/33284/original/5wf9vdbj-1382252241.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=496&amp;fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Should it be the role of the Constitution to protect individual rights from being trampled on, such as by Queensland&#39;s newly-introduced anti-bikie legislation?</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">AAP/Dan Peled</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Last week, Queensland’s state government introduced a number of tough new law and order measures targeting <a href="http://statements.qld.gov.au/Statement/2013/10/16/new-legislation-to-protect-the-community">serious sexual offenders</a> and <a href="http://statements.qld.gov.au/Statement/2013/10/15/tough-penalties-for-criminal-gang-members">bikies</a>. </p>
<p>Under the new laws, bikie gang members in Queensland face being locked up in maximum security jails for a minimum of 15 years unless they co-operate with police. Jail terms also apply for riding in groups or wearing club colours to a hotel.</p>
<p>In the name of community safety, the new legislation makes very large and serious incursions into fundamental human rights, including the right to be free from arbitrary detention, the right to a fair trial before an independent judge and the right to free speech and association. </p>
<p>The legislation - and the way in which it was pushed through Queensland’s parliament - highlight the inherent dangers in Australia’s constitutional system, which relies heavily on democratic institutions for the protection of individual rights.</p>
<h2>What does Australia’s Constitution protect?</h2>
<p>Australia’s Constitution does not contain a comprehensive bill of rights. High Court justice Patrick Keane <a href="http://www.naa.gov.au/collection/publications/papers-and-podcasts/australian-constitution/keane.aspx">once described</a> Australia’s Constitution as “only a small brown bird”, not forged from bloody civil war or revolution, but by men with great confidence in the parliamentary institutions of England to protect the rights of individuals against the arbitrary rule of the government. </p>
<p>In pratice, what this has meant is that the courts have limited tools with which to scrutinise legislation that intrudes on individual liberties.</p>
<p>The High Court has found some implied protections, such as of judicial power and the independence and impartiality of the courts, in the sparse provisions of the Constitution. At the Commonwealth level, this prevents the federal government and parliament from exercising judicial power, such as the power to punish individuals. It prevents the judiciary from exercising anything other than judicial power, and protects the integrity of the judicial process.</p>
<p>At the state level, there is no equivalent separation of powers, but the High Court has found that state courts must still maintain a number of characteristics of independence and impartiality to continue to fit the constitutional description of courts. </p>
<p>Since the states’ “war on bikies” began in earnest in the 2000s, the High Court has found a significant proportion of anti-bikie measures <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/national/bikie-laws-declared-unconstitutional-20101111-17o8w.html">unconstitutional</a> because they compromised the independence and impartiality of the state judiciary or the judicial process.</p>
<h2>Why is the Constitution unlikely to prevent the Queensland laws?</h2>
<p>One of the important planks of Queensland’s anti-bikie legislation is the <a href="https://www.legislation.qld.gov.au/Bills/54PDF/2013/VicLawAssDisB13.pdf">Vicious Lawless Association Disestablishment Act 2013</a>. </p>
<p>This act places mandatory additional sentences on associates of criminal gangs: 15 years for an ordinary associate and 25 years for an office bearer. While serving a further sentence, prisoners are not eligible for parole unless they co-operate with law enforcement agencies.</p>
<p>Mandatory sentences are historically unusual. They severely limit a judge’s ability to consider the full circumstances of a case in determining an appropriate penalty. Nonetheless, just days before the Queensland legislation passed, the High Court <a href="http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/cases/cth/HCA/2013/40.html">affirmed</a> that mandatory minimum sentences (in that case, for people smugglers) were constitutional.</p>
<p>The High Court accepted that the determination of a sentencing yardstick, both upper and lower limits, was a legislative judgment for the democratic institution of parliament.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/33285/original/wskz3v54-1382253635.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Queensland lawmakers such as attorney-general Jarrod Bleijie and premier Campbell Newman managed to push through anti-bikies legislation with a minimum of debate.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">AAP/Dan Peled</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Another major part of the Queensland legislation was to introduce an <a href="https://www.legislation.qld.gov.au/Bills/54PDF/2013/CrimLawAmdPIDAmdB13.pdf">indefinite detention regime</a> for serious sex offenders after their sentence has expired. This responded to the imminent release of Robert John Fardon, a notorious Queensland sex offender. His release in 2003 instigated the enactment of Queensland’s <a href="http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/qld/consol_act/dpoa2003399/">original regime</a> for the preventative detention of serious sex offenders. </p>
<p>Under the original act, the Queensland Supreme Court decides whether an individual is a serious danger to the community and needs to remain in detention. Under the new act, this power is, in effect, vested in the state attorney-general. The legislation is a <a href="http://statements.qld.gov.au/Statement/2013/10/2/attorneygeneral-to-appeal-fardon-decision">direct result</a> of the Supreme Court’s refusal of the attorney-general’s previous applications for Fardon’s detention.</p>
<p>The High Court has been able to use the Constitution to ensure that when governments create regimes involving the courts, the integrity of the judicial process is maintained. However, at the state level, this doesn’t prevent these powers from being removed from the courts altogether. To stop that, the High Court would have to come up with a new implication.</p>
<p>It is not the High Court that failed Queensland, but the assumptions on which Australia’s Constitution was built. Our founding fathers failed to realise that such a poor state of democracy would manifest.</p>
<h2>Queensland’s unicameral system</h2>
<p>In Queensland, the upper house of state parliament voted itself out of existence in 1922, and the High Court found nothing in the Constitution to prevent this from happening. This removed a fundamental check and balance on governments with overwhelming majorities in the lower house and parliamentarians well-trained in party discipline. </p>
<p>The laws in Queensland were introduced and passed in the course of parliament’s three sitting days last week. Each bill was declared urgent. No outside consultation or committee scrutiny occurred. The debate on one bill commenced at midnight and <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-10-16/qlds-tough-anti-bikie-laws-passed-after-marathon-parliament-/5025242">finished in the early hours</a> of the morning.</p>
<p>This is certainly not the first time that we have seen this type of fearmongering and abuse of parliamentary processes to pass extreme measures that erode fundamental liberties of the few in the name of protection of the many. This reflects a failure of the community as well as a failure of the parliament and, ultimately, the Constitution.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/19359/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Gabrielle Appleby does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Last week, Queensland’s state government introduced a number of tough new law and order measures targeting serious sexual offenders and bikies. Under the new laws, bikie gang members in Queensland face…Gabrielle Appleby, Senior Lecturer, Adelaide Law School, University of AdelaideLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/192312013-10-17T03:16:55Z2013-10-17T03:16:55ZA phony war: bikies aren't the only problem on Queensland's Glitter Strip<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/33171/original/c77ysgjy-1381968330.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=496&amp;fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">In Queensland, the Finks motorcycle gang are among those in the gun of police, the state government, the media and the public.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">AAP/Joe Castro</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Bikies have become the poster boys of crime in Queensland. In the past week we’ve seen the announcement of a <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-10-16/bikies-liken-new-qld-laws-to-guantanamo-bay/5026568">spartan, bikies-only jail</a> likened to Guantanamo Bay, tough new laws rushed through a <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-10-16/qlds-tough-anti-bikie-laws-passed-after-marathon-parliament-/5025242">marathon session of state parliament</a> overnight, and a constant stream of news about <a href="http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/new-laws-in-bikie-war-pass-queensland-parliament/story-fnihsrf2-1226740591889">“the war on bikies”</a>.</p>
<p>It was all sparked by last month’s <a href="http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/man-sparked-brawl-outside-gold-coast-restaurant-so-police-would-help-him-court-told/story-fnihsrf2-1226729584121">brawl</a> between Finks and Bandidos outlaw motorcycle gang members at a Gold Coast restaurant. But what really sparked public outrage was that after the brawl, bikies <a href="http://www.goldcoast.com.au/article/2013/09/28/459028_crime-and-court-news.html">laid seige</a> to a major police station in Southport. </p>
<p>From 1994 to 2010, I worked as a detective on the Gold Coast, in charge of the Criminal Investigation Branch at Burleigh Heads. So I was as shocked as anyone to see the TV images of the police station under siege - not just that the bikies would be so brazen, but also that the local police appeared unable to respond.</p>
<p>However, the Queensland government’s rapid response with new <a href="http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/nation/queensland-widens-bikie-law-assault-with-plans-for-jobs-bans/story-e6frg6nf-1226740804229">far-reaching and unprecedented laws</a> does not match the scale of the crime threat posed by bikies on the Gold Coast, and risks undermining some basic principles of the criminal justice system.</p>
<h2>How many bikie gangs are there?</h2>
<p>Data recently obtained from Queensland Police indicates that there are 14 outlaw motorcycle gangs officially recognised as operating in Queensland. Membership includes full members, probationary, prospect and nominee members. There are approximately 920 members of outlaw motorcycle gangs in Queensland, with the 14 clubs having 50 chapters and 835 full members.</p>
<p>Membership of the gangs is spread throughout the major towns and cities of Queensland, with the larger proportion of members located in the south eastern corner of the state. The South Eastern Police Region, which includes the Gold Coast and Logan areas, has the greatest concentration of members, with seven clubs based in the Gold Coast Policing District (which stretches from Coomera to the New South Wales border at Tweed Heads). </p>
<p>The Gold Coast has three of the high-risk clubs: namely the Finks, the Bandidos and the Rebels. Of interest is that despite Queensland Police only nominating 14 clubs as existing in Queensland, the recently introduced <a href="http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/the-criminal-law-criminal-gangs-disruption-amendment-bill-20131015-2vjzk.html">Criminal Law (Criminal Gangs Disruption) Amendment Bill</a> listed some 26 gangs that are to be prescribed as “criminal organisations”.</p>
<p>This prompts the question: if Queensland Police is not recognising 12 of the gangs as even being present in Queensland, why is the government legislating them as criminal organisations?</p>
<h2>How much of a criminal threat are bikies?</h2>
<p>Turning to crime, we can see that outlaw motorcycle gangs play a relatively minimal role.</p>
<p>Statistics provided by experts such as Arthur Veno suggest that outlaw motorcycle gangs are responsible for about 0.6% of overall crime. Examination of <a href="http://data.gov.au/dataset/ba546289-1aed-4c46-9ad0-356d9e22c64a">police data</a> for the Gold Coast and surrounding areas over a 12 month period showed that outlaw motorcycle gangs committed about 0.9% of overall crime. This reduced to 0.4% of overall crime if associates were removed and only members were included. </p>
<p>These statistics clearly show that these gang members are not committing significant amounts of crime. They are, however, committing crime in public, and that is why the wider public’s imagination is captured. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/33172/original/28g83ngg-1381968356.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Gold Coast police have held ‘bikie briefings’ in an attempt to rid the tourist strip of outlaw motorcycle gangs.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">AAP/Dan Peled</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In its annual intelligence assessment of <a href="http://www.crimecommission.gov.au/publications/organised-crime-australia/organised-crime-australia-2013-report">organised crime</a> released earlier this year, the Australian Crime Commission noted the movement of outlaw motorcycle gangs to more visible crime. </p>
<p>Importantly, though, this violence is usually intra-club. Recent data obtained from Queensland Police also showed that the three most common offences committed by the outlaw motorcycle gangs were breach of bail, unlicensed or disqualified driving, and low-level possession of dangerous drugs.</p>
<p>This is all hardly the stuff of organised crime king-pins.</p>
<p>In fact, much of the crime committed by outlaw motorcycle gangs fails to satisfy the definition of <a href="http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/cth/consol_act/accea2002423/sch3.html">organised crime activity</a> as put forward by the <a href="http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/cth/consol_act/acca2002289/">Australian Crime Commission Act</a>.</p>
<h2>Hidden crime trends in Queensland</h2>
<p>It is not just the bikies doing more crime. It is probably salient to look at the wider picture of crime in Queensland. </p>
<p>In the past two years, Queensland has seen an 8% increase in the rate of total offences reported statewide. The Gold Coast, for instance, has seen a 36% increase in robberies and a 24% increase in weapons offences over the last 12 months. </p>
<p>The Queensland Police’s <a href="http://www.police.qld.gov.au/services/reportsPublications/statisticalReview/1112/">Annual Statistical Review</a> provides the public with a detailed snapshot of crime across the state. The review allows for an informed assessment to be made of the performance of the Queensland Police Service. </p>
<p>In the 2012 review, the Gold Coast was first in the state for the amount of “other offences”, which includes offences such as public order and drug offences, second for offences against property and fourth for offences against the person. </p>
<p>This year, however, the Queensland Police Service has refused to publish the Annual Statistical Review. This has made analysis of current crime trends difficult - if not impossible - to the average citizen.</p>
<p>So, while the war on bikies is commanding all the headlines right now, there are other, more concerning trends developing.</p>
<p>The Queensland government’s new anti-bikie legislation has not gone through due process or been given the consideration it needs as to its fairness and impact on the wider community. </p>
<p>It is also concerning that the free and robust flow of information to the Queensland community from the state government on issues such as crime is being stifled.</p>
<p>There’s no question we should be getting tougher on bikies, <a href="http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/gold-coast-bikie-gangs-out-of-control-need-tougher-police-action-says-criminologist-terry-goldsworthy/story-fnihsrf2-1226663867527">as I’ve argued in the past</a>. And no one - whether you’re a politician, a police officer or someone holidaying on the Gold Coast - wants to see bikies brawling on our streets.</p>
<p>However, we need to make sure that in responding to a visible but relatively small criminal threat, we don’t undermine the criminal justice system in the process.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/19231/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Terry Goldsworthy does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Bikies have become the poster boys of crime in Queensland. In the past week we’ve seen the announcement of a spartan, bikies-only jail likened to Guantanamo Bay, tough new laws rushed through a marathon…Terry Goldsworthy, Assistant Professor in Criminology, Bond UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/188962013-10-04T22:01:54Z2013-10-04T22:01:54ZThe great bikie beat-up: why we shouldn't confuse crime lords with boofheads on bikes<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/32467/original/dny5w2m3-1380862339.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=496&amp;fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Bandidos bike gang member Jacques Teamo, who faced court after last week&#39;s Broadbeach brawl.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">AAP</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Australia has two types of bikies: Conservatives and Radicals. </p>
<p>The Conservative lifestyle involves riding big bikes, drinking a lot, punching your mates and enemies, then falling over and sleeping it off. To a select group of guys, this is tremendous fun. They join outlaw motorcycle gangs because they love this lifestyle and also enjoy the “outlaw” image of being unacceptable to society.</p>
<p>There is also a Radical lifestyle. This is where some people harness the violent skills of bikie gang members and apply it to making money. Bikies are intimidating and willing to use violence on property and people. This makes them extremely useful for extortion and, once they establish their bone fides at extortion, it makes it possible for them to take over organised crime activities.</p>
<p>Money is a fantastic incentive and lots of money is an even better one. So it is not surprising that some Conservative bikies do become radicalised and move into more serious crime. </p>
<p>There are also fake bikies - known as Nike Bikies - who are organised criminals simply pretending to be bikies in order to piggy back on the brand: the Power of the Patch.</p>
<h2>Cracking down - but on which criminals?</h2>
<p>Since a [violent bikie brawl](<a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-09-28/bikie-gang-brawl-gold-coast-arrests/4986714">http://www.goldcoast.com.au/article/2013/09/28/459028_crime-and-court-news.html</a> erupted at a Gold Coast restaurant on Friday night last week, the <a href="http://www.goldcoast.com.au/article/2013/10/03/459271_crime-and-court-news.html">federal and Queensland governments</a> have declared war on bikies. As <a href="http://www.perthnow.com.au/news/national/queensland-premier-campbell-newman-orders-police-to-do-8216whatever-it-takes8217-to-rid-streets-of-feuding-bikies/story-fnii5v6y-1226729224625">Queensland premier Campbell Newman said</a> on Sunday:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I’ve had enough and Queenslanders have had enough — these criminals seem to have lost touch with reality and we are going to reclaim the streets…We’re going to meet the bikies with an equal response in terms of force. Life is about to get very difficult for them. Every gang member will be assumed to be a criminal and treated as such until this is over.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>But if we want to reduce outlaw motorcycle gang crime, it’s important to start by seeing that not all bikies are the same. </p>
<p>Instead, our federal and state governments need to decide whether they are primarily trying to address anti-social violence (the Conservatives), like last week’s <a href="http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/more-bikies-arrested-over-gold-coast-brawl-20131003-2uxa8.html">Broadbeach brawl</a>, or organised crime, involving the Radicals.</p>
<p>Both are genuine problems - but the Radicals’ impact on our community far outweighs that of the Conservatives.</p>
<p>Organised crime undermines society and causes harm throughout the community by supporting illicit activity and extorting money from legitimate business. On the other hand, Conservative bikie turf wars can cause collateral damage through physical harm to innocent bystanders, but these incidents are extremely rare in comparison. </p>
<p>We do need to tackle both types of criminal activity - but that requires very different approaches.</p>
<h2>Street thugs vs organised crime</h2>
<p>Organised crime is a problem for Australia, as it is in every nation. Outlaw motorcycle gang members are involved in organised crime and this needs to be addressed. </p>
<p>However, the events that led up to the Newman’s statement that <a href="http://www.perthnow.com.au/news/national/queensland-premier-campbell-newman-orders-police-to-do-8216whatever-it-takes8217-to-rid-streets-of-feuding-bikies/story-fnii5v6y-1226729224625">“every gang member will be assumed to be a criminal”</a> involved street fighting. </p>
<p>It may turn out that the brawl was related to organised crime - but it is more likely to have been a result of the normal machismo-based territoriality and vendetta that bikie gangs have been involved in long before any of them delved into drugs production and extortion.</p>
<p>Organised crime must be addressed through good police work, using good quality intelligence and backed up by sufficient resources. </p>
<p>And on that score, there is good news from this week’s state and federal crackdown on bikies. The extension of federal resources and powers to the Queensland police will greatly improve the ability to address the organised crime activities of outlaw motorcycle gangs.</p>
<h2>Beating up the risk of bikie beat-ups</h2>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/32466/original/mbgb7dms-1380862091.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/32466/original/mbgb7dms-1380862091.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=237&amp;fit=clip"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A commanding officer holds up a copy of the Gold Coast Bulletin, featuring a bikie with the headline ‘We Run This Town’, to a group of police reinforcements on the Gold Coast.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">AAP/Dan Peled</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Street violence is part of the bikie gang lifestyle. This barbarian behaviour is attractive to its members and very difficult to stop simply through a legal response. </p>
<p>The issue is to move the violence off the streets and allow consenting adults to indulge their lifestyle choice in private. In this case, the increased police presence, even though it is likely to be temporary, should have some effect at displacing the violence away from the tourist strips. </p>
<p>However, the sudden, huge focus on outlaw motorcycle gangs is a beat-up, made easier by how recognisable bikies and the disproportionate fear they engender in many people. </p>
<p>Let’s be clear - outlaw motorcycle gang members are not the only people involved in the drug trade or extortion on the Gold Coast. It is not even clear that they are the primary players in either form of crime.</p>
<p>So it would be folly to focus exclusively on outlaw motorcycle gangs in an attempt to stop organised criminal activity. It may not be the intention of the Queensland government to do this, but what has been <a href="http://www.qt.com.au/news/newman-stop-bikie-gangs-turning-qld-wild-west/2037492/">said publicly about bikies</a> certainly makes it sound that way.</p>
<p>It should also be remembered that no government in the world has eradicated or even significantly reduced organised crime in any jurisdiction. So it is unlikely to happen in Queensland, no matter how effective the new <a href="http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/feds-target-bikie-assets-20131003-2uul2.html">Queensland Strike Team</a> proves to be.</p>
<p>Similarly, bikies do not have a monopoly of getting drunk and brawling in public. Anyone who has been to a pub in any tourist strip on an average Friday or Saturday night will be able to judge that for themselves. Thus focusing on outlaw motorcycle gangs alone in an attempt to protect the public from street violence would also be folly.</p>
<p>The new laws that have been announced in Queensland and the stronger police response will hopefully do some public good in addressing organised crime, and at least relocate street violence away from the family-friendly areas of the Gold Coast. </p>
<p>But if we want this new crackdown to have more than a passing impact on crime, then we should remember one thing. When it comes to organised crime or violence in our streets, both are far bigger than being just “a bikie problem”. </p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/18896/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Mark Lauchs does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Australia has two types of bikies: Conservatives and Radicals. The Conservative lifestyle involves riding big bikes, drinking a lot, punching your mates and enemies, then falling over and sleeping it off…Mark Lauchs, Senior Lecturer Faculty of Law, School of Justice & Transformational Learning and Teaching Fellow/Senior Lecturer Chancellery, Learning and Teaching Unit, Queensland University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.